Industrial production and manufacturing orders declining

Finland's economic statistics continue to deliver bad news. Now it is the latest figures for industrial production and orders in the manufacturing industry that show significant falls, surely linked to the economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus.

According to Statistics Finland, seasonally adjusted industrial output fell by 1.2% in May from the month before. Industrial output adjusted for working days was 3.8% lower in May 2020 than in May 2019. During January to May, working day adjusted output went down by 1.7% from the year before.

Examined by main industry, seasonally adjusted industrial output grew most in May in the electrical and electronics industry, by 8.2%, and in the metal industry, by 1.3% compared to the previous month. Output fell most from the previous month in the chemical industry, 9.8%, in mining and quarrying, 9.1% and in the forest industry, 2.2%.

New manufacturing orders fell

According to Statistics Finland, the value of new orders in manufacturing was 28.4% lower in May 2020 than twelve months earlier. During January to May, orders decreased by 12.2% from the year before. Orders have declined continuously for five months.

Source: Statistics Finland.

In May, enterprises in all manufacturing industries received less orders than twelve months ago. In the chemical industry, new orders decreased by 14.9% from the previous year.

In the industry of the manufacture of paper and paper board products, orders declined by 29.8% and in the metal industry by 30.6% year-on-year.