Turnover in oil and gas, manufacturing, mining and electricity supply, March 2016

The index value for turnover in manufacturing was 139.4 (2005=100) in the period January-March 2016, compared to 142.9 in the previous three-month period, according to seasonally-adjusted figures. 

Three-month change: strong fall in refined petroleum, chemical and pharmaceutical industries

Three-month change: strong fall in refined petroleum, chemical and pharmaceutical industries

The 2.4 per cent decline in the first quarter of 2016 was mainly due to a strong reduction in the turnover for grouping refined petroleum, chemical and pharmaceutical industries and the machinery and equipment industry, which fell 13 and 11 per cent respectively, according to seasonally-adjusted figures..

Lower investment activities in the oil and gas sector led to the decline in machinery and equipment. The decrease within the grouping refined petroleum products, and chemical and pharmaceutical industries was mainly due to a decline in prices of refined petroleum products in January and February 2016. 

The reduction in manufacturing was further enhanced by a fall in the building of ships, boats and oil platforms and fabricated metal products. Changes in the classification code (NACE) for some units that hold a large share in transport equipment led to a 14 per cent fall in this industry. 

Although the total turnover in Norwegian manufacturing showed a decline in the first quarter of 2016, food products showed a prominent growth of 4.3 per cent. 

Monthly change: moderate growth from February to March 2016

Total Norwegian manufacturing turnover went up 1.4 per cent from February to March 2016, according to seasonally-adjusted figures. Refined petroleum, chemical and pharmaceutical industries contributed strongly to the increase in manufacturing turnover, which rose 8.1 per cent. This was followed by machinery and equipment, which edged up 9.0 per cent, mainly due to the higher turnover among a few leading suppliers. Building of ships, boats and oil platforms and non-ferrous metals also edged up in this period. 

On the other hand, fabricated metal products, repair, installation of machinery and food products showed a negative trend and dampened the growth in manufacturing turnover. 

Twelve-month change: notable decline in machinery and equipment from March 2015 

Calendar-adjusted figures showed a decrease of 9.3 per cent in total manufacturing turnover in March 2016 compared to March 2015. Both the domestic and the export market faced a negative trend. 

The biggest contributor to pulling down total manufacturing turnover was machinery and equipment, which decreased by 36 per cent. As mentioned above, a lower level of investment activities in the oil and gas sector accounts for much of the decline. Food products had the largest share, curbing the fall with a 9.6 per cent increase.

Monthly change: greater decline in Norway than in the euro area in February 2016

Norwegian manufacturing turnover went down 2.4 per cent from January to February 2016, according to seasonally-adjusted figures. Manufacturing turnover in the euro area  also showed a slight decrease of 0.3 per cent. Among the Nordic countries, Denmark and Sweden showed an increase of 5.4 and 1.6 respectively, according to Eurostat.