Finnish chemical industry: slower growth in paint industry.

(From Chemical Business Newsbase - Economic Outlook of the Finnish Chemical Industry)

The growth rate of the Finnish production of paints and colouring materials has declined during winter 2002. Demand growth was mostly sustained by exports to Russia and the Baltic states, although there were some signs of weakness in the demand in these markets, too. The outlook for the domestic demand for paints and colouring materials is more sluggish than for exports. Demand for industrial coatings in the engineering and metal products industry showed some encouraging signs during autumn 2002, but after that the production in that sector has declined. In the furniture industry, …