Finland Industry Confidence Slips Back Into Negative

Finland’s manufacturing confidence fell to -1 in January 2026, returning to the negative territory following a neutral reading in the previous month. Production expectations for the coming months weakened sharply to 18 from a downwardly revised 25 in December, while finished goods inventories turned neutral from 4. Meanwhile, order backlog outlook were slightly less negative, easing to -20 from -21. In addition, capacity utilization rose marginally, with 67% of companies reported operating at full capacity in January from 64% in the prior month, but still below the long-term average of 70%.

Finland's manufacturing confidence stood at 0 in December 2025, recovering from a five-month low of -6 in the previous month and returning to its long-term average of 0. Production expectations for the coming months improved significantly, climbing to 26 from 17 in November. At the same time, the decline in order backlog expectations moderated to -22 from -27. On the other hand, inventories of finished goods weakened to 4 from 6 in the prior month. Meanwhile, 63% of companies reported operating at full capacity in December, compared with 62% in the prior month, still below the long-term average of 70%.

Finland's manufacturing confidence declined to -6 in November 2025, down from -4 in the previous month. This marked the lowest reading since June and remained below the long-term average of 0. Order backlog expectations fell further, to -27 from -22 in October. Meanwhile, production expectations for the coming months improved (16 vs 13), and inventories of finished goods also turned more positive (6 vs 3). Meanwhile, 62% of companies reported operating at full capacity in November, compared with 60% in the prior month, still below the long-term average of 70%.