Turnover in oil and gas, manufacturing, mining and electricity supply, January 2013

The majority of the industries showed small changes in turnover in the last three-month period. The grouping refined petroleum, chemicals and pharmaceuticals fell by 3.6 per cent. This was due to lower prices within refined petroleum products. For more on this see the Producer price index. Meanwhile, fabricated metal products fell by 5.9 per cent. This downturn was within both the domestic and the export markets.

Industries with growth in turnover included machinery and equipment as well as the grouping repair and installation of machinery. These industries show continuous increases in both volume and prices. See index of production. This positive trend also applies to food products, which increased by 3.7 per cent in this period.

Increase in turnover from December to January

Seasonally-adjusted figures showed that total Norwegian manufacturing turnover went up by 0.5 per cent from December to January 2013. The largest increase was for building of ships, boats and oil platforms, by 14.8 per cent. Basic chemicals went up by 8.6 per cent, which can be partially explained by higher prices from November to January this year.

On the other hand, rubber and plastic products, and fabricated metal products went down by 3.5 per cent, while wood and wood products fell by 4.9 per cent.

Large growth within machinery and equipment

Unadjusted figures showed an increase of 4.8 per cent in total manufacturing turnover in January 2013 compared to January 2012. The largest growth in turnover was for machinery and equipment, up by a solid 38.2 per cent. This was followed by building of ships, boats and oil platforms, rising 16.6 per cent. Repair and installation of machinery rose by 11.7 per cent. These industries are important suppliers to the oil and gas industry. This can explain the boost in turnover that these industries are currently experiencing. Another industry with high levels of turnover in this period was food products, increasing 5.1 per cent.

Industries with reduced turnover were basic metals, down 14.2 per cent and paper and paper products, with a fall of 13.3 per cent.

Norway and the euro area

Seasonally-adjusted figures show that Norwegian manufacturing turnover went down 0.4 per cent from October to November 2012. Manufacturing turnover in the euro area went up 0.6 per cent in the same period, according to figures published by Eurostat.