2023.10.25
The numbers show – the industry is toughening up
The market in August shows both "salt and sugar" when the latest industry figures are seen by APPLiA. The most obvious is that the seasonal autumn sales have started. August is normally the month that sets the bar for how autumn sales will turn out. Compared to the holiday month of July, deliveries from industry companies increased by over 40 percent in August. Now we hope things will be tough in the future...
Industry annual rate; minus 4 percent
The overall market (MDA+SDA) is consolidating at a level that is around an annual rate of minus 4 percent. This applies to the value measurement. If we look at the volume in numbers instead, it looks much bleaker: MDA: minus 14 percent and SDA minus 21 percent so far this year.
It is the tough inflation that gives this difference between value and volume in the accounts and the trend seems to continue. In the latest inflation figures from Statistics Sweden in September, prices for home electronics/white goods also increased by a further 1.2 percent between August and September in Sweden.
Swedish retail trade: Calendar-adjusted annual development (value)
Swedish consumer durables trade shows similar patterns
Swedish consumer durables trade as a whole, which includes white goods, also shows a similar difference between value and volume. In current prices, taking into account price developments, consumer durables trade increased by 5.9 percent in August, while the figures for volume developments in consumer durables trade showed a decrease of 1.6 percent. All these comparisons from Statistics Sweden are made between August 2023 and the corresponding month in 2022.
SDA starts collection of the waste
Household appliances (SDA) are recovering some of the year's earlier losses with an increase of 11.8 percent in August. It is mainly the vacuum cleaner category that is improving the figures within SDA this month, but "ironing" and kitchen appliances/assistants/food processors are also helping.
For major appliances (MDA), it remains difficult to match the levels of the previous year and the month of August is no exception. With the weak development in August, the Year-To-Date rate slipped further down from 1.6 percent last month to minus 2.5 percent in August.
Text: Kent Oderud
