Finnish industry is sharply losing orders — metallurgy and chemical industry in the anti-leaders

The cost of new orders in the Finnish industrial sector in May this year was more than nine percent lower than a year earlier, according to data published today, July 10, by the Statistical Office of the Nordic country.

Most of all, new orders in value terms decreased in the metallurgical industry — a decline of 12.2%. There were also significantly fewer orders in the chemical industry in annual comparison (-7.4%).

Meanwhile, the volume of new orders in the paper and paperboard industry increased by 0.3%.

The number of orders in the Finnish industry has been falling in recent months. In January-May of this year, this indicator decreased by 8.9% compared to the same period in 2023.

Investments in Finnish industry in 2024 will decrease by one percent compared to last year, data from the Finnish Confederation of Business and Industry (EK) showed last month. According to the investment review, the total volume of investments in the industrial sector of the Northern European country this year will amount to about 9 billion euros.

According to EK, investments in the Finnish industrial sector increased by 11% last year. Such a significant reduction in investment is another sign of the economic downturn in the country.

The Finnish economy is recovering from the recession, but economic growth will remain weak in the coming years. This forecast was made by the Bank of Finland in June. The country's GDP is expected to shrink by half a percent in 2024. In 2025, the recession will end, and economic growth will increase by 1.2%, and in 2026, GDP will grow by 1.7%.

Recall that Finland is going through difficult economic times after it joined the anti-Russian sanctions of the West in 2022. The country is facing a record number of bankruptcies and rising unemployment.