Turnover in oil and gas, manufacturing, mining and electricity supply, December 2008

2008 was a good year for turnover in Norwegian manufacturing since both prices and production volumes grew. The producer price index shows an increase in prices of 6.3 per cent for the industrial groupings last year. Production volumes increased by 2.7 per cent according to the index of production .

Strongest growth for capital goods

With an increase of 22.0 per cent, capital goods were the major contributor to the rise in turnover in 2008. For this group the turnover rose by 23.5 per cent in the domestic market and by 18.4 per cent in the export market. Oil platforms rose by 29.4 per cent and machinery and equipment went up by 23.8 per cent.

The turnover for intermediate goods increased by 3.7 per cent in 2008. The domestic market went up 7.4 per cent, while the export market went down by 0.3 per cent. Both mineral products and basic chemicals went up by 8.4 per cent and metal products increased by 7.9 per cent. Basic metals had the largest decline (6.3 per cent).

Consumer goods had the lowest growth turnover in 2008 (an increase of 1.3 per cent). The export market rose by 1.8 per cent and the domestic market rose by 1.1 per cent. Food, beverages and tobacco products had a growth of 5.0 per cent in 2008.

Turnover fell in fourth quarter 2008

Seasonally adjusted figures show that the turnover in Norwegian manufacturing went down by 4.3 per cent from the third to the fourth quarter. The domestic market went up 0.7 per cent while the export market fell 9.6 per cent. Intermediate goods fell the most by 5.2 per cent. Refined petroleum products, and chemicals and chemical products experienced a fall in turnover of 16.9 per cent and basic metals fell by 16.2 per cent. This development is due to both lower prices and lower output last quarter. Consumer goods went down by 2.5 per cent. Capital goods showed an increase of 3.8 per cent.