Archive:Electrical machinery and equipment production statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1
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- Data from January 2009. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.
This article belongs to a set of statistical articles which analyse the structure, development and characteristics of the various economic activities in the European Union (EU). According to the statistical classification of economic activities in the EU (NACE Rev 1.1), the present article covers the production of electrical machinery and equipment, corresponding to NACE Division 31, which is part of the electrical machinery and optical equipment sector. The activities covered in this article include the manufacture of:
- electric motors;
- generators;
- transformers;
- electricity distribution equipment;
- insulated wires and cables;
- optical fibres for coded data transmission;
- batteries;
- lighting equipment;
- other electrical equipment.
Note that the manufacture of domestic appliances is covered within the article on domestic appliances production.
_Structural_profile,_EU-27,_2006.PNG)
Main statistical findings
Structural profile
_Structural_profile,_2006.PNG)
_Index_of_production,_EU-27_(2000%3D100).PNG)
_Production_of_selected_products,_EU-27,_2007_(1).PNG)
_Expenditure,_productivity_and_profitability,_EU-27,_2006.PNG)
_Main_indicators,_2006_(1).PNG)
The 70.7 thousand enterprises that were operating within the EU-27’s electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing sector (NACE Division 31) in 2006 made the largest contribution of the four NACE divisions within the electrical machinery and optical equipment sector to the value added of the electrical machinery and optical equipment (NACE Subsection DL) manufacturing sector, accounting for two fifths of the total (40.9 %), and just under half (46.6 %) of all those employed. The electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing sector in the EU-27 generated EUR 82.9 billion of value added in 2006 from sales of EUR 282.0 billion.
Looking in more detail, the largest activity in the EU-27 in terms of the NACE groups which compose the electrical machinery and equipment sector was the manufacture of electricity distribution and control apparatus (NACE Group 31.2) which contributed EUR 33.1 billion of value added (39.9 % of the electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing total), followed by the manufacture of electrical equipment not elsewhere classified (NACE Group 31.6) which contributed EUR 19.7 billion (23.8 %) and the manufacture of electric motors, generators and transformers (NACE Group 31.1) which provided EUR 15.0 billion (18.1 %). In employment terms, these three subsectors together accounted for more than four fifths (80.9 %) of the 1.7 million persons employed in the EU-27’s electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing sector.
As with most of the activities covered within electrical machinery and optical equipment sector, the electrical machinery and equipment sector was dominated by Germany, which contributed a little over two fifths (40.8 %) of the EU-27’s value added in 2006 – more than three times as high as the next biggest shares recorded by Italy and France (11.5 % and 10.8 % respectively). In relation to the non-financial business economy value added of each Member State, the electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing sector in Hungary contributed the highest share (4.1 %) in 2006, while the Czech Republic (3.0 %) and Germany (2.9 %) were the next most specialised Member States, with ratios that were about double the EU-27 average (1.5 %).
The development of the index of production for the manufacture of electrical machinery and equipment in the EU-27 during the ten years between 1997 and 2007 was similar to that observed for the whole of electrical machinery and optical equipment manufacturing (NACE Subsection DL), albeit with less pronounced fluctuations both when expanding and contracting. Furthermore, the downturn in electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing output in 2002 and the subsequent upturn in 2004 lagged, by one year, a similar development for electrical machinery and optical equipment manufacturing as a whole. Over the ten years through to 2007, the index of production for the manufacture of electrical machinery and equipment grew at an average rate of 2.7 % per year, a lower figure than that recorded for the whole of electrical machinery and optical equipment manufacturing (4.5 % per year).
Expenditure and productivity
The EU-27's electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing sector recorded an investment rate (the ratio of investment to value added) of 9.1 % in 2006, about half the average for the whole of the non-financial business economy (18.4 %). The relatively low level of capital intensity of this activity is evident when looking at its share of total investment within the EU-27’s non-financial business economy (0.7 %), which was less than half its corresponding share of non-financial business economy value added (1.5 %).
In contrast, the relative importance of personnel costs in the electrical machinery and equipment sector’s operating expenditure was relatively high, at 22.3 % for the EU-27 in 2006, compared with an average of 16.1 % for the whole of the non-financial business economy. This share was based on average personnel costs in the EU-27 of EUR 36.1 thousand per employee, which was well above the non-financial business economy average of EUR 28.8 thousand, while being the lowest level among the four NACE division within the electrical machinery and optical equipment sector.
The EU-27’s electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing sector recorded an apparent labour productivity of EUR 48.5 thousand per person employed in 2006, which was also the lowest level among the four NACE divisions within the electrical machinery and optical equipment sector, but was again higher than the non-financial business economy average (EUR 43.5 thousand per person employed). Combining these two ratios into the wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio shows the relationship between value added and personnel costs per head, and indicates that value added per person employed in the EU-27's electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing sector was equivalent to 134.4 % of the average personnel costs in 2006, the lowest ratio for this indicator among the four NACE divisions that are treated in the electrical machinery and optical equipment sector, and also below the non-financial business economy average (151.1 %).
Among the NACE groups that make up the electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing sector, none were particularly capital-intensive, with the highest for the EU-27 being recorded for two relatively small subsectors that concern the manufacture of insulated wires and cables (11.7 %) and the manufacture of accumulators, primary cells and batteries (11.8 %). The least capital-intensive subsector – using this measure of the investment rate – was the manufacture of electricity distribution and control apparatus (7.4 %), which also recorded the highest share of personnel costs in operating expenditure (26.8 %) among the six NACE groups covered by this article, as well as the highest level of apparent labour productivity (EUR 57.0 thousand per person employed) and the highest level of average personnel costs per employee (EUR 47.1 thousand).
However, when adjusting labour productivity to take account of personnel costs, the highest wage-adjusted labour productivity ratios within the EU-27’s electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing sector were recorded for the manufacture of insulated wire and cable (154.2 %) and the manufacture of lighting equipment and electric lamps (158.2 %); both of which were characterised by relatively low average personnel costs per employee that were close to the non-financial business economy average.
Among the Member States[1], high average personnel costs were recorded in Germany, at EUR 54.7 thousand per employee in 2006, the highest level among the Member States. Average personnel costs in the German electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing sector were 53.4 % higher than the national average for the non-financial business economy, once again the highest value. Using a similar measure, the relative apparent labour productivity of the electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing sector (in relation to the non-financial business economy average) was at around 50 % above average in Spain, Greece and Hungary.
Data sources and availability
The main part of the analysis in this article is derived from structural business statistics (SBS), including core, business statistics which are disseminated regularly, as well as information compiled on a multi-yearly basis, and the latest results from development projects.
Other data sources include short-term statistics (STS) and the PRODCOM statistics on the production of manufactured goods.
Context
The electrical machinery and optical equipment sector is an important and strategic part of Europe’s manufacturing sector, producing a wide range of mostly high-technology products (for example, computers, switchgears or semi-conductors). This sector has been cited as being at the centre of industrial development, as almost every other sector depends, at least to some degree, on the capital equipment, technology, end-products, research and innovations that are provided by the electrical machinery and optical equipment sector. It is therefore often referred to as one of the main drivers of productivity gains and central to the EU’s objective of creating more and better jobs.
The goods and services made within the electrical machinery and optical equipment sector range from capital goods used in energy and primary transformation activities, transport manufacturing (motor vehicles, aeronautics and rail equipment producers) or process manufacturing sectors (agro-industries, chemicals, plastics or wood), through intermediate goods (such as electronic components or wiring) that are often used by other manufacturers, to consumer goods (such as consumer electronics, mobile phones and household appliances).
This sector operates within a long-established legislative framework that covers issues such as product safety, energy labelling, minimum efficiency requirements, eco-design and waste. Two Directives (2008/34 and 2008/35) on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment were introduced in 2008. The EU aims to take measures to prevent the generation of electrical and electronic waste and to promote reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery in order to reduce the quantity of such waste by encouraging manufacturers to design products with the environmental impacts in mind throughout their entire life cycle.
The potential role that may be played by the electrical machinery and optical equipment sector with respect to energy efficiency has also been highlighted in recent years. Indeed, considerable effort has gone into reducing the energy consumption of appliances, although changes in lifestyle and working practices have sometimes offset these, for example, while changes to the manufacture of domestic and office appliances has made these more energy efficient, rising equipment rates and the introduction of new technologies may result in higher overall energy consumption. Several directives cover this area of energy saving, in particular a Directive on eco-design requirements for energy-using products, a Directive on the energy labelling of domestic appliances and a Regulation on the energy efficiency labelling programme for office equipment.
The electrical machinery and equipment sector is composed of a diverse range of activities that are mainly supplied to professional downstream users in the form of electro-technical equipment and less frequently to consumer markets. Many of the activities within the electrical machinery and equipment subsector, in contrast to the others in the electrical machinery and optical equipment sector, may be considered to be quite mature. This may explain why there are relatively low research and development budgets in some of these activities, while many producers focus on their key products and make increasing recourse to outsourcing.
Further Eurostat information
Publications
Main tables
Database
Dedicated section
Further information
- Directive 2008/34/EC of 11 March 2008 amending Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), as regards the implementing powers conferred on the Commission
- Directive 2008/35/EC of 11 March 2008 amending Directive 2002/95/EC on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment as regards the implementing powers conferred on the Commission
See also
Notes
- ↑ Bulgaria, Greece, Poland and Romania, 2005; Ireland, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands, not available.