Industrial activity
The level of industrial activity grew by 5.1% in July compared to the same month last year, while advanced construction 5.2% in the same period, as reported yesterday by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC).
In the case of manufacturing activity, the cumulative January-July this year showed an increase of 5.8% compared to the same period in 2021. Meanwhile, in July, the seasonally adjusted series index had a negative change of 1.2% compared to the previous month and the trend-cycle series index showed a decrease of 0.4% compared to the previous month.
According to the INDEC report, in July fifteen of the sixteen manufacturing divisions surveyed showed increases in the year-over-year comparison.
In order of their incidence in the general level, there were increases in machinery and equipment with an improvement of 21.1%; Motor vehicles, bodywork, trailers and auto parts, 21.6%; Other equipment, appliances and instruments, 15.6%.
It was followed by the basic engineering industries, 4.9%; Rubber and plastic products, 6.8%; Oil refining, 8.7%; Clothing, leather and footwear, 6.6% and non-metallic mineral products, 5.3. ; Food and beverage items also increased, 0.8%; Substances and chemicals, 1.4%; metal products, 4.0%; Wood, paper, publishing and printing, 1.7%; and Furniture and mattresses and other manufacturing industries, 3.7%.
Among the activities that have not registered variations on an inter-annual level is the textile industry.
Regarding construction, the statistical institute reported that it represents the improvement observed in July the industry’s sixth consecutive year-over-year increase, albeit at a much slower pace to the 20% expansion recorded last May and 7.2% last June.
According to official data, in the first seven months of the year, Construction has accumulated an increase of 6.3%. As for the generation of jobs, according to official data, they increased by 18.3% year on year, to 428,183. Yesterday, during a conference held by the Argentine Chamber of Construction (CAMARCO), it was reported that the business generates one in every 14 jobs.
Other indicators of the pulse of activity are sale of supplies. In this sense, the latest report from Grupo Construya, which brings together companies that produce and market building materials, sales of these products have increased in July 8.4% on an annual basis and 7.5% compared to the previous month.
“In July, the level of shipments of materials for residential works continued to recover and the highest volumes of the year were recorded. Construction has been and is a profitable and safe business for investors, and a solid refuge. of value in the face of the dynamic volatility that our market experiences “, said Grupo Construya.
Construction activity in Argentina recorded a 30.8% recovery in 2021 from the blow suffered in 2020 due to the outbreak of the pandemic. And although the indicators remain positive, the perception of entrepreneurs in the sector is that the slowdown is imminent in this economic climate.
Yesterday, at the sector conference, held in La Rural, the manager of Camarco, Gustavo Weiss, said that “it is necessary to create conditions and incentives for the arrival of greater private investments, both local and foreign. For this reason Laws are needed that seduce and attract private capital, securing legal and fiscal predictability. But it is also essential to attack the huge macroeconomic imbalances that generate the plague of inflation, endemic in our country, which leads us to have no money, destroys credit and consequently makes it impossible to project long-term investments “, he said.
Source: Clarin
