Manufacturing's growth in turnover levels off

Total turnover for manufacturing came to NOK 82 billion in September/October 1998, an increase of 1.7 per cent over the same period in 1997. This is the smallest increase in over a year. Electricity and gas supply and oil and gas extraction had reductions of 14 and 21 per cent in the same period.

Most manufacturing industries had a larger turnover in September/October 1998 than in the corresponding period in 1997. Traditional engineering industries such as metal products and machinery and equipment and electrical and optical equipment had the greatest growth. A continued high level of construction activity in the North Sea contributed to a high turnover in these industries in 1998.

The turnover also increased in food products, beverages and tobacco, where meat and meat products had the sharpest increase. One possible explanation for this increase was the drop in the relative price ratio between meat and fish, which may have resulted in a shift of consumption toward more meat.

Export-oriented industries such as pulp, paper and paper products, basic chemicals, and machinery and equipment also underwent a growth in turnover in the same period, partly as a result of the trend in exchange rates and increased prices in the global market.

Few industries underwent a marked decline. Oil refineries and non-ferrous metals had the biggest negative developments. The decline was mainly due to the price drop in the international raw materials market, especially for oil and aluminum.

Petroleum extraction and electricity and gas supply

Producers of energy goods had a turnover of NOK 36 billion in September/October 1998, which corresponds to a reduction of about 19 per cent relative to the same period in 1997. Lower prices, especially for crude oil, have resulted in a corresponding decline in the turnover for oil and gas extraction. The turnover for the producers of electricity dropped by 14 per cent.

New Statistics
Statistics on Turnover. Oil and gas extraction, mining and quarrying, manufacturing, electricity and gas supply, September/October 1998.
The statistics are published every other month in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics. For more information, contact: Pal.Bakken@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 47 46.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 11, 1999