The brisk rise in Finland's export sector fortunes may be coming to a halt sooner rather than later, according to a report published Wednesday by lobby association Technology Industries Finland (TIF).
The group says that domestic technology companies received far fewer commissions in July—September than in the first quarter of 2017. The growth of staff sizes in the industry has also slowed down after the summer.
TIF surveyed companies on new commissions, their order backlog and HR developments.
"The global economy is swelling fast, but unfortunately Finland is showing signs of slowing down," the lobby's CEO Jorma Turunen says.
Some 14 percent more tech commissions came in during the third quarter than at the same time one year ago, and backlogs, too, were 15 percent larger than a year ago. However, compared with the previous quarter some 22 percent fewer commissions were received euro for euro, the organisation claims.
Turunen says that even official Statistics Finland and Customs figures show exports shooting up after the New Year, but by March that spike fell back down. The lobby group's report paints the strong early signs as little more than a quirk.