Industry orders up over 20% in November

“The worst trough seems to be behind us, including in industrial manufacturing. In spite of the positive end to the year, industry companies’ outlooks continue to be overshadowed by negative risks,” says Roope Ohlsbom, an economist at Suomen Yrittäjät, the Finnish SME association.

Statistics Finland says that the value of new orders received by industrial companies was 21% higher than a year previously. Between January and November, new orders dropped by 1.8% compared to the previous year.

“This has been the first period of two consecutive months of growth since the autumn of 2022. Industrial firms’ mild growth expectations are also starting to be seen in order numbers, as Finnish industrial outlooks are boosted by lower interest rates,” says Suomen Yrittäjät economist Roope Ohlsbom.

Ohlsbom says the worst low point in industrial production seems to be in the past. However, there are abundant negative risks. They include the trading and geopolitical instability caused by Donald Trump, German industry’s problems and the situation in the Middle East, which is also reflected in the Finnish economy,” Ohlsbom says.

“The ongoing war in Europe, political turbulence and Trump’s rhetoric, which destabilizes the rules-based international order, mean instability and a continued difficult market situation for Finnish industrial firms.”

Structural problems

In recent months, news which has slowed down a positive economic turn has also come from Europe.

“We must be prepared for the structural nature of industry’s problems in the Eurozone, meaning the weak industrial production atmosphere is not as temporary as hoped. Naturally, extended difficulties in the Eurozone would affect Finland’s economic prospects.”

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