In Q4 2017, turnover in the industrial sector rose by 6.1 percent year on year. It was the fifth quarter in a row to show growth. For 2017 as a whole, industry achieved an increase in turnover of 7.1 percent. Turnover increased in all industrial sectors, but was strongest in transport with a rise of 14.2 percent.

Output prices in industry were 2.8 percent higher in Q4 2017 than at the end of 2016. This rise was seen both in the Netherlands and abroad, with increases of 2.4 percent and 3.2 percent respectively.

Over the whole of 2017 there was an annual price increase of 4.8 percent in the industrial sector. With a price increase of almost 10 percent, the petroleum industry played a major role in these positive price developments. In all other areas of industry, prices also rose, although in the electrical engineering and machinery industries, for example, the increase was only 0.2 percent.

In the food industry and the beverage industry, sales on both the domestic and international markets increased in the fourth quarter of 2017, while sales in the tobacco industry fell by 4.2 percent. Turnover in the food industry rose by 5.1 percent and in the drinks industry by 7.3 percent. Manufacturing output prices in industry rose across the board in the fourth quarter. The highest price increase (4.3 percent) occurred in the tobacco industry, rising more rapidly on the foreign market (4.7 percent).

The number of bankruptcies declared in industry has fallen sharply since 2013. At the peak in 2012, 859 companies went bankrupt, while in 2017 the number dropped to 275. This is a fall of 68 percent compared to 2016.

Producer confidence in industry is well above the average for the past twenty years. Since October 2014, entrepreneurial positivity has prevailed. Producer confidence reached a record high of 10.9 percent in February 2018. In March 2018, producers were slightly less optimistic, with a confidence rating of 9.5 percent. Since October 2015, production has grown every month compared to the same period one year previously. In February 2018, production growth reached 4.2 percent.