The financial turmoil of late 2008 and early 2009 has developed into a world recession, and demand has decreased significantly. The global demand for investment goods has slumped during the past six months, resulting in falling industrial production and significant layoffs, especially in the Swedish and Finnish export sectors. Swedish exports are expected to bottom out in mid-2009, due to the levelling out of the current global inventory adjustments together with increasing demand from US and Chinese consumers and a weak Swedish krona.

Finnish exports, however, are expected to experience a longer downturn, due to the strong euro and their dependence on construction materials, especially the processed wood industry. Norway has a better starting point than the other Nordic countries, due to its oil and gas assets. Although the past year’s slump in oil prices has affected investments in the oil sector, Norwegian exports have remained more stable than