Finland Industry Confidence Slips Back Into Negative

Finland’s manufacturing confidence improved to 3 in February 2026 from a revised reading of 0 in the previous month, moving slightly above its long-term average level of 0. Production expectations remained favourable, pointing to continued output growth in the coming months. Order books strengthened from January but stayed below their historical average, while inventories of finished goods remained broadly in line with normal levels. Spare capacity persisted across the sector, with 57% of firms reporting operating at full capacity in February, down from a revised 66% in the prior month. Earlier data showed Finland’s manufacturing confidence in January stood slightly above the EU average, indicating relatively resilient industrial sentiment despite remaining capacity slack.

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%.