Archive:Radio, television and communication equipment production statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1
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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 manufacture of radio, television and communication equipment, corresponding to NACE Division 32, which is part of the electrical machinery and optical equipment sector. The activities covered in this article are:
- electronic components, including active, passive and printed circuit boards (PCBs), corresponding to NACE Group 32.1;
- television cameras, transmission apparatus for radio and television, telephonic switching apparatus (including LANs and modems), telephones and fax machines, corresponding to NACE Group 32.2; (note that information, communication and media content that makes use of this equipment is dealt with in the article on Media and communications statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1);
- audio-visual equipment and related appliances, which includes as loudspeakers, headphones and aerials, and of other electronic consumer appliances, which includes telephone answering machines, corresponding to NACE Group 32.3.
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Main statistical findings
Structural profile
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_Index_of_production,_EU-27_(2000%3D100).PNG)
_Production_of_selected_products,_EU-27,_2007_(1).PNG)
_Main_indicators,_2006_(1).PNG)
Just over a quarter (25.6 %) of the value added generated within the EU-27’s electrical machinery and optical equipment (NACE Subsection DL) manufacturing activities in 2006 came from the manufacture of radio, television and communication equipment (NACE Division 32) sector. The EUR 51.8 billion of value added that was generated in the EU-27 by 29.4 thousand enterprises that reported radio, television and communication equipment manufacturing as their principal activity in 2006, represented just 14.5 % of the total number of enterprises within the electrical machinery and optical equipment total. The radio, television and communication equipment sector employed 771.6 thousand persons in 2005.
Due to scarce data availability, the most complete measure of the relative importance of the subsectors that compose the EU-27’s radio, television and communication equipment sector is presented in terms of employment shares. The manufacture of electronic valves and tubes and other electric components (NACE Group 32.1) was the largest subsector, employing 309.9 thousand persons in 2006 (40.9 % of the radio, television and communication equipment manufacturing total), which was only slightly more than the 36.9 % share recorded for television and radio transmitters and apparatus for line telephony and line telegraphy manufacturing (NACE Group 32.2), with the remainder of the workforce (22.2 % in 2005) employed within the manufacture of television and radio receivers, sound or video recording and reproducing apparatus (NACE Group 32.3).
Just over a fifth (20.9 %) of the value added generated by the EU-27’s radio, television and communication equipment sector came from Germany in 2006, while there were two other Member States that recorded a double digit share of EU-27 value added – namely, France (13.4 %) and Finland (11.2 %). Finland was by far the most specialised Member State for the manufacture of radio, television and communication equipment (largely due to mobile telephony), as this sector accounted for 7.0 % of its non-financial business economy value added (compared with an EU-27 average of 0.9 %). The specialisation ratio for Finland was approximately double that recorded in the second most specialised country, Hungary (3.6 %), while Ireland and Sweden were also relatively specialised.
The development of the EU-27 production index for the manufacture of radio, television and communication equipment in the ten years between 1997 and 2007 followed a similar but slightly more amplified development when compared with the production index for the whole of electrical machinery and optical equipment manufacturing. The index of production for radio, television and communication equipment manufacturing followed a very cyclical pattern, with average growth of 7.5 % per year during the period 2002 to 2007, following on from average losses of 5.6 % per year between 2000 and 2002. Despite the fluctuations in output, the overall expansion in EU-27 output of radio, television and communication equipment manufacturing between 1997 and 2007 outstripped all other industrial (NACE Sections C to E) divisions for which data are available, averaging 5.4 % per year over the ten-year period.
Expenditure and productivity
Gross tangible investment made by the EU-27’s radio, television and communication equipment manufacturing sector in 2006 was valued at EUR 7.8 billion, which was 0.8 % of the non-financial business economy total. The investment rate of the radio, television and communication equipment manufacturing sector was 15.1 %, slightly below the non-financial business economy average of 18.4 %, but relatively high for one of the electrical machinery and optical equipment sectors. Among the Member States[1], the investment rate for the radio, television and communication equipment manufacturing sector climbed to over 20 % in ten of the Member States in 2005 or 2006. However, the investment rate of the radio, television and communication equipment manufacturing sector was only above the non-financial business economy average in four of the Member States for which data are available. Among these, Germany (77 % above average) clearly stood out, while the Czech Republic, Poland (2005) and Italy (22 % to 14 % higher) also reported relatively high investment rates for radio, television and communication equipment manufacturing.
The structure of operating expenditure within the radio, television and communication equipment manufacturing sector was such that personnel costs accounted for 15.4 % of the total, the remainder being made up of purchases of goods and services. This share was lower than the average proportion of operating expenditure accounted for by personnel costs within the whole of the electrical and optical equipment sector (20.6 %), despite the fact that average personnel costs were EUR 43.3 thousand per employee – the highest level among the four NACE divisions in the electrical machinery and optical equipment sector. In a similar vein, apparent labour productivity was also relatively high for the EU-27’s radio, television and communication equipment manufacturing sector (EUR 62.5 thousand per person employed in 2005). Nevertheless, when productivity was adjusted to take account of personnel costs, the wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio for the EU-27’s radio, television and communication equipment manufacturing sector was 143.1 % in 2005, above the average for the whole of electrical and optical equipment (130.9 %) in the same year, but still slightly below the non-financial business economy average (146.5 %) in the same year.
The most productive workforce among the Member States[2] for radio, television and communication equipment manufacturing was in Ireland, where each person employed generated an average of EUR 318.9 thousand of added value in 2006. The respective workforces of Finland and Sweden were also highly productive (EUR 164.6 thousand and EUR 144.7 thousand per person employed). These figures, to some degree reflect the relatively high average levels of productivity in these three economies – although it is also interesting to note that all three countries were among the most specialised Member States in terms of the manufacture of radio, television and communication equipment. Furthermore, when comparing the labour productivity of the radio, television and communication equipment manufacturing sector with national non-financial business economy averages, Ireland again topped the ranking – as its workforce for this sector was 3.8 times as productive as the non-financial business economy average. Finland (2.5 times) and Sweden (2.4 times) were joined by Portugal and Bulgaria (both 2005) as the only other Member States where the radio, television and communication equipment workforce was at least twice as productive as the national non-financial business economy average.
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 main downstream customers for manufacturers of electronic components include the computer and office equipment sector, communications manufacturers, as well as motor vehicles manufacturing and manufacturers of consumer electronics/household appliances, with electronic components forming the technology backbone on which PCs, wireless handsets, navigation and ABS systems, set-top boxes and camcorders are based. Technological innovation has led to miniaturisation, digitalisation and convergence in terms of radio, television and communication equipment, as witnessed through multifunctional, digital products (such as third generation mobile phones that incorporate high-speed Internet access and video telephony, or MP3 players that can also be used to surf the Internet, or view photographs).
This area of the economy is highly intensive in terms of research and development (R & D), underlining its important role as a driver for innovation. Much of the research is conducted in knowledge-based clusters that are centred on the proximity of universities, research and design centres and manufacturing facilities, such as Dresden (Germany), Dublin (Ireland), Grenoble (France), Catania (Italy), the Nijmegen-Eindhoven-Leuven axis (Netherlands/Belgium) or around Helsinki (Finland).
In this context, the seventh Framework Programme (FP7) on research and development may provide a platform to share ideas and innovate. Among the technology platforms established for this purpose are the networked and electronic media platform which looks to focus on generalised broadband access, increased mobility, the availability of richer media formats and contents, as well as new home networks and communications platforms, and the mobile and wireless communications technology platform that looks to build on GSM and DECT technologies.
The radio, television and communication equipment sector faces intense competition from the Far East, which further underlines the need for European manufacturers to continually innovate. At the same time, many product markets are characterised by imitation and it is often difficult to protect intellectual property.
Further Eurostat information
Publications
Main tables
Database
Dedicated section
Further information
- Directive 2008/34 of 11 March 2008 amending Directive 2002/96 on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), as regards the implementing powers conferred on the Commission
- Directive 2008/35 of 11 March 2008 amending Directive 2002/95 on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment as regards the implementing powers conferred on the Commission