Lower investments in 1999

The investment activity in manufacturing, mining and quarrying, and electricity supply will be lower next year according to the estimates submitted by the companies that took part in the investment survey. The estimate for 1999 currently comes to NOK 16 billion compared with the estimate for 1998 of NOK 19 billion made at the same time last year. The estimate for 1998 is still high and only shows a marginal decline from the previous reporting.

The investment estimate for manufacturing, mining and quarrying, and electricity supply for 1999 shows only a marginal increase of 1.5 per cent from the previous quarter. Normally the estimate increases sharply the closer one comes to a new investment year. The increase in the estimate comes to NOK 245 million in absolute numbers. This breaks down to an increase of NOK 975 million for manufacturing and a decrease of NOK 730 million for electricity supply.

Within manufacturing, the food products, beverages and tobacco industry has the greatest increase over the previous reporting, a full 40 per cent. The basic metals industry has the greatest decrease, 23 per cent. Compared with the fourth quarter last year, the basic metals industry and the refined petroleum products and chemicals and chemical products industries had the greatest declines, 35 and 32 per cent respectively. Electricity supply has estimated 1999 investments of NOK 4.3 billion, which amounts to a decline of fully 14 per cent compared with the figures reported in the previous quarter. The large decline is a result of delays in projects and more updated budgets.

High investment level for 1998
The investment level for 1998 is 16 per cent above last year's estimate at the same time and is estimated at NOK 22.2 billion. That is the highest fourth-quarter estimate for the current year that has been made in the 1990s. The next highest estimate was NOK 18.9 billion in 1996. The trend in the estimates for 1999 means that 1998 appears to be an exceptional year for the level of investments.

Manufacturing and mining and quarrying reported investments of about NOK 17.4 billion for 1998. This estimate is at a level that is unchanged from the previous quarter and 18 per cent above the same period last year. Electricity supply shows a decline of five per cent to NOK 4.8 billion, which means that the aggregate estimate shows a slight decline of 1 per cent for this year compared with the estimate given in the previous quarter.

New Statistics
Investment statistics. Manufacturing, mining and quarrying, and electricity supply, 4th quarter 1998.
These statistics are published quarterly in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics. For more information, contact: Benn.Torjesen@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 47 20. Tables can be found in the Statistical Annex on pages 38-42.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 50, 1998