Industry outlook recovers due to March figures

Statistics Finland published new industrial order and production figures on Friday 8 May. The value of new orders received by industrial companies in March was 7.7% higher than a year previously. The increase was mainly due to growth in orders in the chemical and metal industries.

“The March figures were a pleasant surprise and transformed the picture for the year so far at a stroke, as the value of new orders received by companies in January–March was 1.5% higher than a year earlier,” says Petri Malinen, Senior Economist at Suomen Yrittäjät, the Finnish SME association.

With the recovery in March, order development in 2026 now looks slightly more positive.

“Industrial companies’ expectations have improved, and industry is waiting to see how economic momentum develops amid the current turmoil,” Malinen says.

The longer-term outlook for Finnish industry has been weakened by the continuation of military action in the Persian Gulf and Donald Trump’s erratic behaviour.

“US actions are casting a shadow over Europe’s economic outlook, and the constantly changing situation both in the war against Iran and in tariff policy is a reminder of how quickly international relations can change under Trump,” Malinen notes.

Even so, the industrial recovery can be expected to continue if the Middle East crisis proves short-lived and the EU manages to stay out of the worst trade wars.

“This is shown by the rapid growth in industrial turnover in March. Working-day adjusted industrial turnover grew by 5.6% in March from March last year. New orders feed into production with a delay, which means that despite economic uncertainty, the recovery in industrial production is likely to continue during 2026,” Malinen says.

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