Still high turnover in manufacturing

Manufacturing sales totalled NOK 73.9 billion in March and April 1998. This is an increase of 10.4 per cent from the same period last year. Sales were particularly high in the food, beverages and tobacco industry and the transport equipment and mechanical industry.

Oil and gas production, manufacturing, mining and quarrying, and electricity supply sales amounted to about NOK 113 billion in March and April 1998. This is an increase of 3.2 per cent compared with the same period last year. Sluggish growth in oil and gas production and in the electricity supply sector was outweighed by the strong performance of the manufacturing industries.

Industry

Sales were particularly brisk in the food, beverages and tobacco industry and the machinery and transport equipment sector, which grew by 15.3 and 20.0 percent respectively from March and April last year to the same period this year. Increased exports and higher prices contributed to the growth in these industries.

Non-ferrous metal--mainly aluminium--sales totalled NOK 3.4 billion in March and April this year. Even with the dramatic decline in aluminium prices since mid-1997 sales of metal products have been high in the preceding periods. In March and April, however, it appears that the downward trend took hold, with sales increasing by only 2.1 per cent.

New Statistics
Statistics on turnover. Oil and gas extraction, manufacturing, mining and quarrying and electricity supply, March/April 1998.
The statistics are published bimonthly in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics. For more information, contact: anita.hallenstvedt@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 47 45.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 38, 1998