Trade turnover, sales shrink by 5% in May

The year-on-year turnover in total trade adjusted for working days fell by 5.0 per cent in May.

According to the Statistics Finland, the working day-adjusted volume of sales, from which the impact of prices has been eliminated, decreased by 1.8 per cent over the same period.

However, the upturn in retail trade stimulated the development of both turnover and sales volume in May. Turnover and sales volume in wholesale and motor vehicle trade were still falling in May. The exceptional situation caused by coronavirus had an effect on the development of trade industries.

Turnover adjusted for working days decreased by 8.6 per cent in wholesale trade in May, while, at the same time, the sales volume declined by 2.9 per cent only. As in April, trade developed least in May in motor vehicles, where the turnover adjusted for working days went down by 16.5 per cent and sales volume by 17.4 per cent year on year.

In contrast, the working day-adjusted turnover in retail trade increased by 6.0 per cent and sales volume by 6.4 per cent. The growth in retail trade was due to positive developments in daily consumer goods trade and department store trade, while turnover still contracted in specialised store trade. In daily consumer goods trade, the working day-adjusted turnover grew by as much as 11.5 per cent and sales volume by 9.6 per cent.

In May, turnover in department store trade grew by 6.0 per cent, while turnover in specialised store trade contracted by 3.6 per cent over the same period. The working day-adjusted development of trade was strengthened by May Day falling on a Friday and the number of weekends in May 2020 compared to that in May 2019.

The seasonally adjusted turnover in total trade grew by 2.3 per cent in May compared to that in April. Sales volume grew by 1.1 per cent during the same period. In April, the turnover fell by 7.2 per cent and sales volume by 2.6 per cent from that in the month before.

The calculation of indices of turnover of trade is based on the Tax Administration’s data on self-assessed taxes, which are supplemented with the Statistics Finland’s sales inquiry. The volume index of sales is calculated by removing the effect of price changes from the value index series.

The factors caused by the variation in the number of weekdays are taken into account in adjustment for working days. This means taking into consideration the lengths of months, different weekdays and holidays. In addition, seasonal variation is eliminated from seasonally adjusted series, on account of which it makes sense to compare observations of two successive months as well.

The data for the latest month are preliminary and they may become significantly revised, particularly on more detailed industry levels, in coming months.