Finnish manufacturing sector sees record-breaking growth in international orders
The metalwork and shipbuilding industries saw the greatest growth year-on-year, the most ever in terms of new international orders since Statistics Finland began recording such changes in 2005.
Statistics Finland reports that the manufacturing industry’s new order log has swelled by 66.7 percent since one year previously. The metal industry grew the fastest, nearly doubling its order volume at 99.3 percent growth. The shipbuilding industry’s large international deals are largely behind the spike, the statistics organisation says.
Actuary Kari Rautio says that Statistics Finland has never reported such high growth year-on-year in terms of new industrial commissions, since it began measuring such changes in 2005.
The American shipping company Royal Caribbean Cruises confirmed in May that it had put in two orders for cruise ships to be built by Meyer Turku. In the chemical industry, orders grew by 24.2 percent since 2016. Paper and cardboard commissions grew by 6.4 percent, while the textile industry waned by 0.7 percent.
Statistics Finland adds that significant fluctuations are typical on a month-to-month basis. Rautio says that the changes can nonetheless be seen as part of a broader uptick in the Finnish economy.
“Most main industries are in an upswing,” says Rautio. “We should also remember that Finnish Customs also announced high export levels. This is something we’ve been waiting for for about a decade.”
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Nunavut gears up for increase in Arctic tourism, Radio Canada International
Finland: Finnish economy steadily growing : Ministry of Finance, Yle News
Norway: Challenging first year for ENI’s oil production in the Barents Sea, The Independent Barents Observer
Russia: Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development wants 210 billion rubles for Arctic regions, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: Northern Sweden cities on shortlist for battery gigafactory, The Independent Barents Observer
United States: Inuit organization plans economic development across national boundaries, Alaska Dispatch News
