Index of industrial production, September 2007

The production of capital goods rose by 1.7 per cent to another record level in the third quarter this year. This was mainly due to sustained growth within machinery and equipment and transport equipment. There was also a minor increase in the output of oil platforms, following strong growth in the previous quarters of 2007.

High investments

The record level of capital goods output is mainly caused by substantial investments in the Norwegian oil and gas activity over the last years and deliveries to oil and gas sectors abroad. At the same time there has been an increase in international demand for Norwegian engineering products.

The output of intermediate goods rose by 0.9 per cent in the third quarter. Basic chemicals and non-ferrous metals have seen an increase in output, while the output of pulp, paper and paper products fell considerably due to weak international demand. Wood and wood products also experienced a minor decrease in production in the third quarter.

Food products

Consumer goods output fell by 0.9 per cent from the second to the third quarter. Food products saw a minor decrease while the output in publishing, printing and reproduction was almost unchanged.

Growth since September 2006

The manufacturing output increased by 4.0 per cent from September 2006 to September 2007, according to working-day adjusted figures. Capital goods output rose by 8.4 per cent while intermediate goods and consumer goods rose by 4.2 and 1.2 per cent respectively.

Norway and the euro area

According to working-day adjusted figures, there was a 4.2 per cent growth in Norwegian manufacturing output from August 2006 to August 2007. The industrial production in the euro area increased by 4.7 per cent in the same period, according to figures published by Eurostat .

Tables

Published tables