Value of industrial orders fall for third consecutive month

The value of new orders received by industrial companies in November was 26.1% lower than a year previously.

“The scale of the decline is due to a few large orders that fell in the comparison period, namely November 2024,” says Roope Ohlsbom, an economist at Suomen Yrittäjät, the Finnish SME association.

November marked the third consecutive month of decline in industrial orders. In January–November, however, the value of new orders was 2.4% higher than a year previously. For the year as a whole, Finnish industry is still expected to remain on the growth side.

“Despite a rather weak autumn, industrial order figures for 2025 continue to justify cautious optimism. Strengthening demand in industry lays the groundwork for a pickup in economic growth,” Ohlsbom says.

“Growth in Finnish industry has been held back by Donald Trump’s erratic trade policy. Fortunately, the uncertainty created by US tariff policy has eased since the spring, and industrial recovery can be expected to continue. Finnish industrial companies are well positioned for growth if the EU succeeds in staying out of the worst trade wars.”

Seasonally adjusted industrial output increased by 0.5% in November compared with October. Industry’s working-day adjusted output grew by 1.9% compared with a year earlier.

“New orders are reflected in industrial output with a delay, so the recovery in production is likely to strengthen in 2026. Uncertainty remains, but industrial companies are already anticipating brighter times. A cyclical upturn in the economy often begins in industry,” Ohlsbom notes.

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