2013 was a successful year for Estonian industry
According to the preliminary data of Statistics Estonia, in 2013 the production of industrial enterprises grew 3% compared to the previous year. Both export sales and the sales on the domestic market increased.
In the course of 2013 manufacturing production showed a moderate growth compared to the same month of the previous year. The exceptions were August, when the production remained on the level of the previous year, and September and December, when the production in manufacturing fell.
In 2013, the production exceeded the volume of the previous year in more than half of the branches of industry. The growth in the production of manufacturing was positively influenced by the three branches holding bigger shares – the manufacture of electronic products and the manufacture of wood (in both branches the production increased 6% compared to 2012) and the manufacture of food products (where the production grew 3%). The growth in the production of manufacturing was negatively influenced by the fall in the manufacture of metal products, electrical equipment and motor vehicles.
In 2013, the production in manufacturing grew mainly due to the increase in exports. More than 70% of the whole production of manufacturing was sold on the external market. Export sales grew 5% compared to 2012. The demand on the domestic market was slightly lower – in 2013 domestic sales increased by 4% compared to the previous year.
In December 2013, the production of industry decreased 6% compared to December 2012; the production of manufacturing fell 4%. In December compared to December 2012, the production of electricity decreased by 23% and the production of heat by 28%. The decline in electricity production was mainly caused by the partial replacement of own production with imports.
In December 2013 compared to November, the seasonally adjusted industrial production fell 6%; the production of manufacturing fell 2% during the month.
Volume index trends of production in manufacturing in the European Union countries,
January 2005 – November 2013 (2010 = 100)
| Economic activity | 2013 compared to 2012 | December 2013 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| change compared to the previous month according to seasonally adjusted dataa | change compared to the corresponding month of the previous year | |||
| according to unadjusted data | according to working-day adjusted datab | |||
| TOTAL | 3.3 | -5.7 | -4.0 | -6.4 |
| Energy production | 6.2 | -14.4 | -25.1 | -26.2 |
| Mining | 13.1 | -3.8 | 11.9 | 9.8 |
| Manufacturing | 2.4 | -2.3 | -1.0 | -3.7 |
| manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products | 5.9 | -16.0 | -10.4 | -13.0 |
| manufacture of wood and wood products | 6.4 | -4.2 | 18.6 | 16.1 |
| manufacture of food products | 3.1 | -2.1 | 2.6 | 1.0 |
| manufacture of fabricated metal products | -2.6 | -13.5 | -27.1 | -29.5 |
| manufacture of electrical equipment | -5.7 | -11.5 | -4.9 | -8.2 |
| manufacture of chemicals and chemical products | 6.6 | -3.0 | -15.8 | -18.1 |
| manufacture of furniture | -2.5 | 4.2 | 1.1 | -2.5 |
| manufacture of motor vehicles | 2.9 | -3.2 | 10.4 | 7.4 |
| manufacture of building materials | 8.4 | 0.5 | -1.8 | -4.2 |
| manufacture of machinery and equipment | -5.0 | -8.3 | 2.0 | -1.5 |
a In case of the seasonally adjusted volume index, the impact of the differing numbers of working days in a month and seasonally recurring factors has been eliminated. It is calculated only in comparison with the previous period.
b In case of the working-day adjusted volume index, the impact of the differing number of working days in a month has been eliminated. It is calculated only in comparison with the corresponding period of the previous year.