Archive:Manufacture of fabricated metal products statistics - NACE Rev. 2
This Statistics Explained article is outdated and has been archived - for recent articles on structural business statistics see here.
- Data from April 2013. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.
This article presents an overview of statistics for fabricated metal products manufacturing in the European Union (EU), as covered by NACE Rev. 2 Division 25.
,_EU-27,_2010.png)
,_EU-27,_2010_(1)_(%25_share_of_sectoral_total).png)
(% share of sectoral total) - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_ind_r2)
,_EU-27,_2010_A.png)
,_EU-27,_2010_B.png)
,_EU-27,_2010_(1).png)
,_2010_A.png)
,_2010_B.png)
,_EU-27,_2010.png)
,_EU-27,_2010_(1)_(%25_share_of_sectoral_total)_.png)
(% share of sectoral total) - Source: Eurostat (sbs_sc_ind_r2)
,_2010_A.png)
,_2010_B.png)
Main statistical findings
Structural profile
The fabricated metal products manufacturing sector (Division 25) in the EU-27 comprised 388 thousand enterprises in 2010, the largest population of enterprises among any of the manufacturing (Section C) NACE divisions. Together they employed 3.6 million persons, equivalent to 2.7 % of all persons employed in the non-financial business economy (Sections B to J and L to N and Division 95) and 11.9 % of the total manufacturing workforce. They generated EUR 149.0 billion of value added which was 2.5 % of the non-financial business economy total and 9.4 % of the manufacturing total.
In employment terms, the fabricated metal products sector was the second largest manufacturing NACE division in the EU-27 in 2010 after food products manufacturing (Division 10), while the EU-27’s fabricated metal products sector had the third highest level of value added, after the manufacture of machinery and equipment (Division 28) and food products manufacturing.
The apparent labour productivity of the EU-27’s fabricated metal products manufacturing sector in 2010 was EUR 42.0 thousand per person employed, below both the non-financial business economy average of EUR 44.8 thousand per person employed and the manufacturing average of EUR 52.8 thousand per person employed. Average personnel costs in the EU-27’s fabricated metal products manufacturing sector were EUR 32.0 thousand per employee in 2010, also below the manufacturing average (EUR 35.8 thousand per employee), but above the non-financial business economy average (EUR 30.9 thousand per employee). The relatively low level of apparent labour productivity contributed to a low wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio for the EU-27’s fabricated metal products manufacturing sector in 2010, 130.0 % compared with the non-financial business economy average of 144.8 % and the manufacturing average of 148.0 %. By contrast, the gross operating rate (the relation between the gross operating surplus and turnover) of the EU-27’s fabricated metal products sector was 10.4 % in 2010, just above the manufacturing (9.0 %) and non-financial business economy (10.1 %) averages.
Sectoral analysis
The manufacture of structural metal products (Group 25.1) and the treatment and coating of metals and machining (Group 25.6) subsectors were the largest subsectors in the EU-27’s fabricated metal products manufacturing sector in 2010: together these two subsectors accounted for just over half of sectoral value added and employment. The next largest subsector was the manufacture of other fabricated metal products (Group 25.9), followed by the manufacture of cutlery, tools and general hardware (Group 25.7), each with more than 10 % of sectoral value added and employment. These were followed in the ranking by the forging, pressing, stamping and roll-forming of metal and powder metallurgy (Group 25.5) with a share of just under 10 % of employment and exactly 10.0 % of value added. The three remaining subsectors each contributed less than 4.0 % of sectoral value added and employment in the EU-27 in 2010.
The three largest subsectors within the EU-27’s fabricated metal products manufacturing sector had relatively low apparent labour productivity in 2010, all recording values below the non-financial business economy average (EUR 44.8 thousand of value added per person employed). The lowest apparent labour productivity figure of any subsector was EUR 35.6 thousand per person employed recorded for the manufacture of structural metal products while the highest was EUR 54.3 thousand per person employed for the manufacture of weapons and ammunition (Group 25.4, 2009 data). The structural metal products manufacturing subsector and the treatment and coating of metals and machining subsector recorded the lowest average personnel costs, below the non-financial business economy average (EUR 30.9 thousand per employee). As for apparent labour productivity, the weapons and ammunition manufacturing subsector recorded relatively high average personnel costs, EUR 40.0 thousand per employee, although the highest average personnel costs (EUR 43.1 thousand per employee) were recorded for the manufacture of steam generators, except central heating hot water boilers (Group 25.3).
With a wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio of 150.0 %, the weapons and ammunition manufacturing subsector was the only subsector within the EU-27’s fabricated metal products manufacturing sector that recorded a ratio above the manufacturing average (148.0 %) in 2010. For all of the remaining subsectors within the fabricated metal products manufacturing sector, the EU-27 wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio was not only below the manufacturing average but also below the non-financial business economy average (144.8 %). The lowest wage-adjusted labour productivity ratios in 2010 were recorded for the manufacture of steam generators, except central heating hot water boilers (121.2 %) and the manufacture of structural metal products (124.0 %).
Despite relatively low productivity indicators, several subsectors recorded relatively high operating profitability in the EU-27 in 2010, as measured by the gross operating rate. The manufacture of weapons and ammunition recorded the highest rate (14.3 %), while the treatment and coating of metals and machining subsector, the manufacture of cutlery, tools and general hardware, and the manufacture of other fabricated metal products also recorded rates above the non-financial business economy average (10.1 %). Three subsectors within the EU-27’s fabricated metal products manufacturing sector recorded gross operating rates below the manufacturing average (9.0 %) in 2010, most notably the manufacture of steam generators, except central heating hot water boilers where the rate was just 5.1 %, the third lowest gross operating rate among the manufacturing NACE groups in 2010.
Country analysis
Germany had the highest value added of any EU Member State in the fabricated metal products manufacturing sector in 2010: the German share of EU-27 value added within the whole of the fabricated metal products sector was 28.2 %, while the German contribution rose to account for as much as 42.0 % of EU-27 value added for the manufacture of cutlery, tools and general hardware. The next largest shares of value added within the EU-27’s fabricated metal products sector were recorded by Italy (16.7 %), France (12.2 %) and the United Kingdom (9.0 %). In seven of the eight subsectors Germany had the highest level of value added, the exception being the manufacture of weapons and ammunition where the United Kingdom had the highest value added.
The relative importance of the fabricated metal products manufacturing sector was highest in Slovenia where it accounted for 4.5 % of non-financial business economy value added in 2010, followed by the Czech Republic (3.8 %) and Italy (3.7 %). Slovenia was among the top three most specialised EU Member States in value added terms for five of the subsectors and was the single most specialised Member State in two of the subsectors — see Table 3. Italy and the Czech Republic were among the most specialised Member States, in value added terms, for most of the activities covered by the fabricated metal products manufacturing sector, but in none of them were they the most specialised Member State. By contrast, the specialisation of some Member States was more narrow: Slovakia was the most specialised Member State in two subsectors and the second most specialised in a third; Estonia was particularly specialised in the manufacture of structural metal products, without being strongly specialised in any other subsector; Bulgaria and Finland were the most specialised Member State in one subsector each in, despite being somewhat unspecialised in the fabricated metal products manufacturing sector as a whole.
Generally, EU Member States recorded low wage-adjusted labour productivity ratios for the fabricated metal products manufacturing sector, with Italy the only country to record a ratio for fabricated metal products manufacturing that was above its national non-financial business economy average in 2010. In terms of the gross operating rate, the situation was somewhat more balanced, with around two thirds of the Member States recording gross operating rates for fabricated metal products manufacturing that were below their national non-financial business economy averages, with the largest positive difference recorded in Ireland.
Size class analysis
The EU-27’s fabricated metal products manufacturing sector was one of eight manufacturing NACE divisions where small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs, employing fewer than 250 persons) employed more than three quarters of the workforce in 2010. SMEs employed 82.5 % of the fabricated metal products manufacturing sector’s workforce and generated 76.7 % of sectoral value added. This was the third highest SME share of employment and value added in 2010 for any of the manufacturing NACE divisions. Due to the lower sectoral share in value added, SMEs had a relatively low apparent labour productivity: EUR 38.8 thousand per person employed compared with an average for large enterprises (employing 250 or more persons) of EUR 56.7 thousand per person employed.
Small enterprises (employing 10 to 49 persons) were particularly important within the fabricated metal products manufacturing sector in 2010; small enterprises employed 32.3 % of the EU-27’s fabricated metal products manufacturing sector’s workforce and provided 30.7 % of sectoral value added. For both of these measures this was the second highest share among all manufacturing NACE divisions, while it was the fourth highest employment share among non-financial business economy NACE divisions and sixth highest value added share. The employment and value added shares of large enterprises in this sector were both lower than the equivalent shares for small enterprises and medium-sized enterprises (employing 50 to 249 persons), a situation that occurred in only five other manufacturing NACE divisions in 2010. Furthermore, a higher proportion of the workforce in the EU-27’s fabricated metal products manufacturing sector were employed in micro enterprises (employing fewer than 10 persons) than in large enterprises.
The dominance of SMEs in the fabricated metal products manufacturing sector was widespread as they contributed more than three fifths of sectoral value added in 2010 in every EU Member State for which data are available. The share of SMEs in total value added ranged from 60.7 % in Austria and 66.0 % in Poland to 92.3 % in Hungary, with Ireland and Cyprus reporting no large enterprises active in this sector. The relative importance of micro enterprises was particularly high, in value added terms, in Cyprus and Greece (2009 data), where micro enterprises generated more than half of the value added in the fabricated metal products manufacturing sector, while shares of more than one fifth were also reported for Slovenia, Italy, Spain and Slovakia. Small enterprises contributed around two fifths of the value added generated in the fabricated metal products manufacturing sector in Ireland, Italy and Spain. In eight of the Member States the contribution from small enterprises to the fabricated metal products manufacturing sector’s value added was higher than from any of the other size classes shown in Table 6b. In most of the other Member States, the largest contribution was from medium-sized enterprises, peaking at 48.7 % for Ireland. Only in three of the Member States — namely, Austria, Germany and Bulgaria — did large enterprises contribute a higher proportion of total value added than any of the other size classes.
Data sources and availability
The analysis presented in this article is based on the main dataset for structural business statistics (SBS) and size class data, all of which are published annually.
The main series provides information for each EU Member State as well as a number of non-member countries at a detailed level according to the activity classification NACE. Data are available for a wide range of variables.
In structural business statistics, size classes are generally defined by the number of persons employed. A limited set of the standard structural business statistics variables (for example, the number of enterprises, turnover, persons employed and value added) are analysed by size class, mostly down to the three-digit (group) level of NACE. The main size classes used in this article for presenting the results are:
- small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): with 1 to 249 persons employed, further divided into;
- micro enterprises: with less than 10 persons employed;
- small enterprises: with 10 to 49 persons employed;
- medium-sized enterprises: with 50 to 249 persons employed;
- large enterprises: with 250 or more persons employed.
Context
This article presents an overview of statistics for the fabricated metal products manufacturing sector in the EU, as covered by NACE Rev. 2 Division 25. This division includes the manufacture of products made solely from metal (such as parts, containers and structures), usually with a static, immovable function; these can be contrasted with combinations or assemblies of such metal products (sometimes with other materials) into more complex units that — unless they are purely electrical, electronic or optical — work with moving parts and are classified to Divisions 26 to 30.
Structural metal products include, for example, metal frameworks or parts for construction. Steam generators include, for example, generators for nuclear reactors or for power boilers.
The manufacture of weapons and ammunition includes the manufacture of heavy weapons, small arms, air or gas guns and pistols, war ammunition, hunting, sporting or protective firearms and ammunition, explosive devices such as bombs, mines and torpedoes.
Forging, pressing, stamping and roll-forming of metal and powder metallurgy as well as the treatment and coating of metals and machining are typically carried out on a fee or contract basis. The treatment and coating of metals also includes plating, engraving, boring, turning, milling, sharpening, polishing and welding.
The manufacture of other fabricated metal products includes the production of steel drums, containers, light metal packaging, nails, screws, bolts, nuts, springs, chains, as well as household and industrial fixtures.
This NACE division is composed of eight groups:
- the manufacture of structural metal products (Group 25.1);
- the manufacture of tanks, reservoirs and containers of metal (Group 25.2);
- the manufacture of steam generators (Group 25.3);
- the manufacture of weapons and ammunition (Group 25.4);
- the forging, pressing, stamping and roll-forming of metal and powder metallurgy (Group 25.5);
- the treatment and coating of metals and machining (Group 25.6);
- the manufacture of cutlery, tools and general hardware (Group 25.7);
- the manufacture of other fabricated metal products (Group 25.9).
Excluded from this division are the manufacture of tanks and other fighting vehicles (included as part of the manufacture of other transport equipment, Division 30), the manufacture of metal furniture (which is part of furniture manufacturing, Division 31), metal sports goods, games and toys (which are classified to other manufacturing, Division 32) and specialised repair, maintenance and installation activities, which form part of Division 33.
Further Eurostat information
Publications
- European business - facts and figures (online publication)
- Key figures on European Business – with a special feature section on SMEs – 2011 edition
Main tables
Database
- SBS - industry and construction (sbs_ind_co)
- Annual detailed enterprise statistics - industry and construction (sbs_na_ind)
- Annual detailed enterprise statistics for industry (NACE Rev.2 B-E) (sbs_na_ind_r2)
- Preliminary results on industry and construction, main indicators (NACE Rev.2) (sbs_na_r2preli)
- SMEs - Annual enterprise statistics broken down by size classes - industry and construction (sbs_sc_ind)
- Industry broken down by employment size classes (NACE Rev.2 B-E) (sbs_sc_ind_r2)
- Annual detailed enterprise statistics - industry and construction (sbs_na_ind)
- SBS - regional data - all activities (sbs_r)
- SBS data by NUTS 2 regions and NACE Rev.2, from 2008 onwards (sbs_r_nuts06_r2)
Dedicated section
Source data for tables and figures (MS Excel)
Other information
- Decision 1578/2007/EC of 11 December 2007 on the Community Statistical Programme 2008 to 2012
- Regulation 295/2008 of 11 March 2008 concerning structural business statistics