Dutch industrial sales fell 9.4% in the final quarter of 2023, the third quarter in a row that sales were down year on year, national statistics agency CBS said on Monday.

The biggest hit was taken by the refinery and chemicals industries, where sales fell 14.4%, the CBS said. Sales in the light engineering sector were down 11.4% and in the wood and construction sectors 11.3%.

Factory gates prices fell 4.2% over industry as a whole, but again were down most in the chemicals and refinery sectors.

There were also 54 bankruptcies in the final quarter, fewer than in 2022, the CBS said. However, the total number of bankruptcies in 2023, at 270, was the highest figure in five years, the CBS said.