New manufacturing orders plummeted almost 30%

The value of new orders in manufacturing was 28.5% in July 2020 than twelve months earlier. In the accumulated January to July period, orders decreased by 14.3% from the year before. Orders have declined continuously for seven months, according to Statistics Finland's data.

Enterprises in all examined main industries received fewer orders in July than twelve months ago. The biggest fall (31.7%) was in the industry of the manufacture of paper and paper board products. New orders declined by 31.4% in the metal industry and by 7.7% in the chemical industry.

Source: Statistics Finland.

Statistics Finland says that, when interpreting these statistics, it should be borne in mind that they typically show strong fluctuations by month. Even new orders of substantial value are not examined over extended time periods but only for the statistical reference month.

Source: Statistics Finland.

The index of new orders in manufacturing describes development in the value of new orders received by enterprises for commodities and services that are meant to be produced by establishments located in Finland.

The sample comprises monthly 400 to 450 enterprises or their kind-of-activity units.