Overview
- INDEC’s industrial production index fell 2.9% year over year in October and 0.8% from September, marking a fourth straight annual decline.
- Weakness was widespread, with 11 of 16 manufacturing divisions down, including textiles (-24%), apparel and leather (-15.1%), rubber and plastics (-12%), and metal products (-8.1%).
- Construction activity rose 8% from a year earlier but slipped 0.5% on a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, with the trend-cycle index edging up 0.1%.
- Key construction inputs diverged sharply, as ready-mix concrete jumped 40.7%, ceramic sanitaryware 35.7% and asphalt 33.6%, while gypsum fell 11.2%, hollow bricks 6.9% and ceramic tiles 6.4%.
- CEPA reported January–September consumer-goods imports at $8.376 billion, a series high 25.3% above the previous record, with coverage and INDEC noting pressure on sectors such as autos, metals and plastics.