Index of industrial production, December 2008

Falling output during the last six months of 2008 resulted in lower annual growth in 2008 than in 2007. Production in manufacturing fell by 1.6 per cent in the third quarter and 2.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to seasonally adjusted figures. The main contributor to this development was intermediate goods, with a 6.5 per cent drop in output in the fourth quarter of 2008. Basic metals fell by 13.9 per cent during the same period. Output in other non-metallic mineral products and in wood and wood products was affected by a fall in the total building activity in Norway and fell 12.2 and 7.3 per cent respectively. Total production of intermediate goods in 2008 fell by 0.6 per cent compared to 2007, according to working-day adjusted figures.

Production of consumer goods fell 1.9 per cent in 2008 compared to 2007, according to working-day adjusted figures. Output in food, beverages and tobacco and in publishing, printing and reproduction remained unchanged, while production of furniture fell.

Favourable order situation and high levels of export

The total stock of new orders was still high in the third quarter, according to statistics on new orders . This is mainly due to a high level of activity in the Norwegian oil and gas sector, which also contributed to the continued upturn in production of capital goods in 2008. Output of capital goods increased by 13.0 per cent from 2007 to 2008, according to working-day adjusted figures. Oil platforms and modules went up by 15.3 per cent during the same period. There has also been a significant increase in the export of engineering products in 2008, according to statistics on external trade in goods . The favourable order situation and high levels of export both contributed to a 16.4 per cent growth in output in machinery and equipment. Output in Norwegian manufacturing production was record-high in 2008 due to this substantial growth in production of capital goods. In the fourth quarter of 2008, production of capital goods fell 2.0 per cent, according to seasonally adjusted figures. This is mainly due to a decline in fabricated metal products and transport equipment.

Decreasing output from November to December 2008

According to seasonally adjusted figures, manufacturing output fell by 2.4 per cent from November to December 2008. Output in intermediate goods fell by 4.6 per cent, while capital goods output fell by 1.7 per cent. Production of consumer goods fell 0.7 per cent. Seasonally adjusted figures for December must be interpreted with caution due to the fact that the holiday effect in December is difficult to predict.

Norway and the Euro area

There was a 0.2 per cent growth in Norwegian manufacturing output from November 2007 to November 2008, according to working-day adjusted figures. Industrial production in the Euro area dropped by 8.4 per cent in the same period according to figures published by Eurostat .