The index value for turnover in manufacturing was 165.9 (2005=100) in the first quarter of 2021 compared to 155.5 in the previous quarter, according to In order to facilitate the interpretation of the short-term development, statistics on turnover publish three-month moving averages of the seasonally-adjusted figures. We normally compare the latest non-overlapping three-month periods. Seasonally-adjusted monthly changes must be interpreted with caution..
Three-month change: refined petroleum, chemicals and pharmaceuticals increases manufacturing turnover
Seasonally-adjusted figures show that the turnover in Norwegian manufacturing increased by 6.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.
The industry grouping refined petroleum, chemicals and pharmaceutical products contributed the most to the positive development in manufacturing turnover with its increase of as much as 22 per cent in the period. Significant price growth for refined petroleum products was an important contributor to the growth in turnover in this industry grouping. Food products and basic metals also contributed to the growth in manufacturing in this period.
Building of ships and oil platforms and machinery and equipment contributed to curbing the increase in manufacturing turnover with a decline of 3.1 and 2.0 per cent respectively.
Monthly change: increased turnover in March 2021
Total Norwegian manufacturing turnover increased by 1.1 per cent from February to March 2021, according to seasonally-adjusted figures. The manufacturing turnover increased in both the domestic market and the export market.
Basic metals and the industry grouping refined petroleum, chemicals and pharmaceutical products contributed the most to the increase in manufacturing turnover. Food products also contributed to this increase.
Building of ships and oil platforms and fabricated metal products, as well as machinery and equipment contributed the most to curbing the increase in manufacturing turnover.
Monthly change: decrease in manufacturing turnover in the euro area in February 2021
Manufacturing turnover in the euro area decreased by 0.6 percent from January to February 2021, according to seasonally-adjusted figures. This was the first month since April 2020 that manufacturing turnover in the euro area has shown a decline. Total Norwegian manufacturing turnover increased by 3.0 percent in the same period. In the other Scandinavian countries, the turnover in Denmark and Sweden was up by 1.1 and 1.3 per cent respectively, according to Eurostat.
Thursday 12th of March 2020 the Norwegian government introduced actions against the spreading of the Corona-virus in Norway. Several manufacturing establishment have been affected by these measures, and this has led to a change in the activity pattern compared to what we usually observe. Hence, the seasonal adjustment routine during the Corona- crisis is done in such a way that the figures during the crisis (from March), are not included in the basis for the calculation of the seasonal pattern. Technically, in the seasonal adjustment routine this is done by specifying March and the following months as outliers. This implies that normal trend figures will not be calculated, and instead the trend will follow the seasonal adjusted figures. One important exception is the last observation, where the trend will be an extrapolated figure where the last observation is not included. The trend figures from, and including, March 2020 will therefore be difficult to interpret. The seasonal adjustment routine of Statics Norway is in line with the recommendations of Eurostat.
It is important to be aware that the uncertainty for the calendar-adjusted and seasonally-adjusted indices for March and April is greater than normal due to the changed placing of Easter. This effect will also affect the seasonally-adjusted figures for the 1st and 2nd quarters. This is accounted for when adjusting for seasonal variations. However, it can still be difficult to adjust for all impacts.