A brighter outlook for trade

This is shown in a new economic barometer from Norrlandsfonden.

The bright spots in the trade sector are due to increased sales volumes and greater expectations of how it will develop in the future. Although the situation has become brighter in trade, it is still weaker than normal. What is dragging down trade is that traders are sitting with large inventories and have weak profitability, and have difficulty finding staff.

"On the positive side, retailers were very positive in their assessments of how the sales situation will develop in the longer term, six months," says Petter Alapää, Norrlandsfonden.

If the situation is still reasonably bright in the retail sector, it is gloomier in the industrial and construction sectors. The manufacturing industry reported a situation between weak and very weak. Very weak assessments of the size of order books and large stocks of finished goods contributed to this.

Profitability assessments from the manufacturing sector also remained weak, with a majority responding that profitability was poor. Profitability assessments have been below the historical average for two years now.

The construction industry is also gloomy. But they are hopeful about how the construction market will develop over the next year.

Norrlandsfonden is a foundation with the task of promoting the development of companies in Norrbotten, Västerbotten, Västernorrland, Jämtland and Gävleborg, i.e. northern Sweden. The fund offers top loans for start-ups, development and expansion. Various types of loans, guarantees or sureties can be used to supplement the financing on top of the company's own capital investment and bank financing.

Lennart Håkansson

editor@northswedenbusiness.com