The industrial sector’s »annus horribilis«

Danish industry is bleeding. In spite of a minor recovery from October to November, the Danish industrial activity is again declining.
Data from Statistics Denmark show that, adjusted for price development and seasonal movements, the industrial production fell 1.8 per cent from November to December 2009. And over the year, the production has fallen by as much as 22.6 per cent.
The figures show what a horrible year the industrial sector has gone through – and that there is still no light ahead, the economists say.
»This is a very drastic decline. But what is even more worrying is that the industrial production still shows no signs of a turnaround – or even a beginning stabilization,« economist Tore Damgaard Stramer Danske Bank, wrote in a comment.

When the third and fourth quarter of the year are compared, the decline of the industrial production is even more drastic – namely 2.3 per cent – in spite of an increase of 1.3 per cent from October to November.
»In spite of the signs of stabilization which we have seen in the private consumption, today’s figures do not indicate that the home market is beginning to move,« chief analyst Jes Asmussen at Handelsbanken wrote.

»It seems that we must hope it will be our foreign trade which will lead to a stabilization of the struggling industrial sector,« Jes Asmussen said.
The industrial sector’s order intake showed, however, a positive development and rose 1.8 per cent from November to December.