Industrial production was stable in October, reported today (22) the National Confederation of Industry (CNI). This is the second consecutive month of stability in production, after a four-month high. The data, which appear in the Industrial Survey bulletin, prepared by the confederation, show that in October, the production evolution index was 50.1 points, compared to the 50 registered in September.
The numbers reflect the performance of small, medium and large companies operating in the industry in general, in the extractive industry and in the transformation industry. The result also shows that, last month, the use of installed capacity in industries dropped one percentage point compared to September, reaching 71%. The result is lower than that registered in October 2020, when the use of industrial capacity was 74%.
According to the CNI, the reduction is partially explained by the influence of the recovery of industrial activity in the last quarter of last year and the need to rebuild inventories. Therefore, the entity sees the result for 2021 as positive, as it is above the average for the same months from 2011 to 2019, when it was 70.4%.
The indicator of effective use of installed capacity compared to usual registered 45.4 points in October. The result represents the third consecutive fall of the indicator.
“Despite being below the 50-point dividing line, which indicates that installed capacity utilization is lower than usual for the month, the index is above the historical average of 42.6 points. In comparison with October 2020, the index shows a reduction of 5.7 points”, informed the CNI.
CNI also said that in October, inventories increased and reached the level planned by the companies. As a result, the stock level evolution index was 50.5 points, five points above the one registered in October 2020.
“The actual-to-planned inventory level index registered 50 points in October, which means that the actual inventory reached exactly the level planned by the companies. The result broke the sequence of months in which actual stocks were lower than planned, which had been happening since December 2019. Compared to October 2020, a critical moment of last year’s lack of stocks, the index shows an increase of 6, 7 points”, says the bulletin.
Job
With regard to employment, the CNI highlights that there was growth in industrial employment, but at a much more moderate pace than in previous months. In October, the evolution index in the number of employees reached 50.4 points, which represents a drop of 1.7 points in comparison with the previous month.
The index ranges from 0 to 100. Values above 50 indicate that the number of employees increased compared to the previous month and values below 50, that the number of employees decreased. As the index was above 50 points, it indicates that there is an increase in employment compared to the previous month, but that job creation is more restricted.
Confidence of the entrepreneur
The bulletin also shows that business confidence has decreased, with a drop in the projection of expectations for the month of November. The perception reflects the results of indicators related to expected demand, exported quantity, raw material purchases and number of employees.
The demand expectation index dropped 2.7 points in October, compared to November, reaching 54.4 points. The export expectation index registered 53 points, which represents a drop of 0.5 point compared to November.
The index for the number of employees decreased by 1.3 points, reaching 51.2 points in November. The index of expected purchases of raw materials was 52.9 points, which represents a drop of 1.9 points in comparison with the months of October and November. This result was 5.1 points lower than that registered in November of the previous year, when the index was 58 points.
