New classification implemented

As of January 2009 a new version of Eurostat’s industry classification, NACE, is in use. This is a nomenclature for classifying enterprises by industry. The system thus governs the grouping together of observations which form the basis of different statistics, and how industries are defined. The producer price index (PPI) and the commodity price index for the industrial sector (VPPI) are affected by the change of nomenclature. From the publication of the January 2009 index NACE rev. 2, and its Norwegian equivalent, SN2007, is the official standard used for calculating and disseminating the indices.

What are the implications for the use of the statistics?

Users of the indices must make sure that they use index values from one and the same version of the index when making comparisons over time. When calculating the price change from December 2002 to December 2008, for example, one must use either the series based on NACE rev. 1 or the series based on NACE rev. 2 for both periods. Users are welcome to refer enquiries about the transition between nomenclatures to Espen Kristiansen.

What are the implications for the calculation of the statistics?

The change of nomenclature means that some observations (goods) have been moved from one industry to another, while others have been moved within industries in ways which have altered their impact on the index. The impact of different industries on the index may also have changed.

What are the implications for the dissemination of the statistics?

All index series will as of the release of the January 2009 index refer to NACE rev. 2. For the period 2000- 2008 the indices have been recalculated according to NACE rev. 2. These series are available in the StatBank.

New indices according to NACE rev. 1 will not be published after the transition, but will remain stored in the StatBank database.