Overview
- ADIMRA reported metalworking activity down 5.2% year over year in September and 1.1% from August, with year-to-date growth at just 0.7% off a weak 2024 base.
- Capacity utilization slid to 44.5%, 5.6 points lower than a year earlier and comparable to early 2020’s worst months.
- UIA estimates show broader manufacturing fell about 3.5% year over year and 0.2% month over month, signaling a return to contraction after August’s brief respite.
- Employment in the sector declined 3.2% from a year earlier and 0.3% from August, while 77.5% of firms expect flat or lower output and 90.2% do not plan to increase staffing.
- Import pressures intensified in August with metal product imports at USD 2.281 billion (+28.4% y/y in value, +55.4% in volume) as exports fell 6.2%, alongside widespread declines across provinces and steep drops in subsectors such as autoparts (-10.8%) and foundry (-9.7%) with only bodies and trailers growing (+5.4%).