Swiss Production rose again in secondary sector in 1st quarter 2021

Secondary sector production in Switzerland – i.e. from industry and construction – rose by 4.5 % in the 1st quarter 2021, compared with the same quarter of the previous year. After three consecutive quarters of negative growth, production figures once again moved into positive territory. Turnover, for its part, grew by 6.3 %. Positive turnover growth was seen for the last time in the 4th quarter 2019. This is shown by provisional results from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

In comparison with the previous year, industrial production grew in January by 0.1 %, in February by 1.7 %, and in March by 12.8 %. The strong growth in March can partly be explained by the low figure for March 2020, as the first Covid-19 safety measures were introduced. For the whole of 1st quarter 2021 production increased by 4.8 % in comparison with the same quarter a year earlier.

Construction production remained stable in 1st quarter 2021. Production rose by 1.9 % in building, civil engineering also registered an increase (+0.6 %). Lastly, specialised construction activities registered a decline of 1.0 % in their production.

Turnover

Industrial turnover in January fell by 1.3 % in comparison with the previous year, they rose in February (+0.2 %) as well as in March (+10.7 %). The marked increase in turnover in March is also due in part to the Covid-19 safety measures introduced in March of the previous year. For the whole of 1st quarter 2021 in comparison with the same quarter a year earlier, turnover registered an increase of 2.8 %.

Construction turnover remained stable in 1st quarter 2021. Turnover rose by 1.3 % in building, Civil engineering registered an increase of 0.8 %, and specialised construction activities a decline of 1.2 %.

Methodological notice

The Industry Production, Orders and Turnover Statistics (INDPAU) is a quarterly survey. The random sample comprises some 4500 companies.

The Swiss Federal Office for Energy (SFOE), the Swiss organization responsible for the compulsory stockpiling of oil products (CARBURA) and the Swiss Association of Gas Industry (VSG) serve as secondary sources for the statistical survey. This collaboration avoids certain economic activities having to be surveyed twice.

Among the variables surveyed are the monthly turnover figures and the quarterly orders received and on hand. The three variables are broken down by economic activity. A distinction is made by provenance (domestic/foreign) for the turnover and orders received variables. The economic activities’ production is calculated by deflating turnover by production prices.

The Construction Production, Orders and Turnover Statistics (BAPAU) represent the economic development of the construction industry. The random sample is composed of roughly 3800 companies.

The Swiss Contractors’ Association (SBV) conducts its own statistical survey among its members (approximately 1800 enterprises), data from which is used by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) for the Construction Industry Production, Orders and Turnover Statistics. This coordinated approach makes it possible to avoid double surveys and eases the burden on enterprises.

Among the variables surveyed are the quarterly turnover figures, orders received and on hand. The three variables are broken down by economic activity. The economic activities’ production is calculated by deflating turnover by production prices.

Both statistics are based on the General Classification of Economic Activities (NOGA) from the year 2008, which meets international standards and classifies businesses into different economic activities based on their economic activities.

In order to exclude seasonal fluctuations from the time series, data is seasonally adjusted. This is done using the X-12-ARIMA method which recalculates the entire time series every quarter. All time series will be adjusted for the number of working days (not every quarter has the same number of working days).

The results of the secondary sector (INDPAU and BAPAU) are available at: http://www.statistics.admin.ch > Look for statistics > Industry and services > Production, Orders, Turnover > Secondary sector

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