The index value for turnover in manufacturing was 167.5 (2005=100) in the period February-April 2021 compared to 158.1 in the previous three-month period, 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..

Figure 1. Index of turnover for manufacturing. Seasonally adjusted. Three-month moving average¹. 2005=100

¹ The index value for period m is the average of period m, m-1 and m-2.

Monthly change: refined petroleum, chemicals and pharmaceuticals decreases manufacturing turnover

Seasonally-adjusted figures show that the turnover in Norwegian manufacturing decreased by 0.7 from March to April 2021 according to seasonally-adjusted figures.

The industry grouping refined petroleum, chemicals and pharmaceutical products contributed the most to the negative development in manufacturing turnover with its decrease of 8.8 per cent in the period. Basic metals also contributed to the fall in manufacturing in this period.

Fabricated metal products contributed to curbing the decrease in manufacturing turnover with an increase of 25 per cent, according to seasonally-adjusted figures.

Figure 2. Selected industries. Seasonally adjusted. Three-month moving average¹

¹ The index value for period m is the average of period m, m-1 and m-2.

Three-month change: turnover continue to increase

Total Norwegian manufacturing turnover increased by 5.9 per cent in the period February-April 2021, according to seasonally-adjusted figures. The manufacturing turnover increased in both the domestic market and the export market.

The industry grouping refined petroleum, chemicals and pharmaceutical products contributed the most to the increase from February to April 2021 in manufacturing turnover. Food products also contributed to this increase.

Fabricated metal products and the industry grouping building of ships and oil platforms contributed the most to curbing the increase in manufacturing turnover.

Monthly change: increase in manufacturing turnover in the euro area in March 2021

Manufacturing turnover in the euro area increased by 2.6 percent from February to March 2021, according to seasonally-adjusted figures. Total Norwegian manufacturing turnover increased by 0.9 percent in the same period. In the other Scandinavian countries, the turnover in Denmark and Sweden was up by 6 and 5.1 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.