The Producer Price Index (PPI) measures price developments in manufacturing, extraction of oil and gas, electricity supply and mining, both in terms of sales to the Norwegian market and abroad. In this article, we mainly focus on the manufacturing industries. Key Norwegian manufacturing industries include the food industry, chemical production, petroleum and coal processing, and basic metal manufacturing.
The producer price index (PPI) measures the price development that important parts of the Norwegian industry receive for their goods. Compared with the more well-known consumer price index (CPI), PPI measures price developments at an earlier point in the value chain. The CPI measures the price development that households pay for different goods, while the PPI measures prices "at the factory gate". Thus, PPI is an important indicator of the condition in the Norwegian industry. The index is used to analyse the Norwegian economy and can also be an indication of the development in the CPI. The PPI measures the price development in extraction of oil and natural gas, manufacturing, water- and electricity supply and for certain services, including services related to oil and gas extraction. Prices are measured on goods sold in the first stage of sales from the producer to the Norwegian market (domestic market), in addition to the foreign market (export market).
Lower price growth on exported manufactured goods
The prices of industrial goods produced in Norway rose by a total of 2 percent from July last year to July this year. This was slightly higher twelve-month growth than in June, when it was at 1.8 percent. The twelve-month growth in prices was lower in the export market than in the domestic market, which was also the case in the previous months.
– Since last autumn and until April this year, the price growth of exported goods was significantly higher than for goods sold domestically. In April, the difference was almost equalized, and in the last three months, the growth has been higher in the domestic market than in the export market. This is partly due to lower prices in the metal industry, says Espen Kristiansen, head of section at Statistics Norway.
The prices the metal industry received in the export market fell by 2.4 percent from June to July. Prices have mostly declined since March this year, and compared to a year ago, prices in July were almost seven percent lower.
Highter food prices both abroad and domestically over the last year
In the food industry, it is still the case that prices have increased more in the export market than in the domestic market the last year, and this is mainly due to high prices on exported fish. Prices in the group of fish, shellfish, and mollusks are 13.7 percent higher compared to the same month last year.
The SSB’s price index of first hand domestic sales (PIF) also shows price changes on various food items, including import prices on food.
Throughout most of 2023, there were high twelve-month rates on imported food, with price increases between 12 and 22 percent. In February 2024, the twelve-month rate fell to just under 3 percent, but towards the end of 2024 and until now, prices have increased more. From July 2024 to July 2025, the price increase for imported food was 6.5 percent, down from 9.6 percent the month before. The declining price growth in July was due to weaker price growth on imported food groups such as vegetables and fruits, coffee, tea, cocoa, and spices, as well as animal feed.
Varying export price growth for different industries
In the chemical industry, prices are higher than they were a year ago. The price increase on exported chemicals from May last year to May this year was 9.3 percent, while in the last two months, the twelve-month growth was 4.8 and 7.7 percent, respectively.
In the petroleum and coal product industry, prices fell significantly from February to June, while they stabilized somewhat in July. This resulted in an approximately unchanged twelve-month rate from June to July.
As shown in figure 2, it is not unusual to have large fluctuations in the twelve-month rates of export prices for these industries.
Other important twelve-month changes
- The price index for the extraction of crude oil and natural gas fell in July by 6.1 percent, contributing to a slight decrease in the twelve-month rate for the overall PPI in July.
- Prices in the power supply, which includes electricity and the distribution of electrical power, increased significantly from July last year to July this year, up 23.6 percent. The rise is a result of low electricity prices at the same time last year due to a lot of precipitation in the summer of 2024 compared to 2025.
