Overview
- The FICCI quarterly manufacturing survey, published Tuesday, found a clear rebound in sentiment after a weaker prior quarter.
- About 95% of respondents reported higher or unchanged production and roughly 90% reported higher or unchanged orders compared with the previous quarter.
- Average capacity utilisation rose to about 75.5% from roughly 72% and hiring intent climbed to 43% from 35%, indicating firms expect to add workers soon.
- Cost pressures lifted with 83% of firms saying production costs rose because of pricier raw materials, energy, logistics and a weaker rupee while the average interest rate paid edged up to 9.1% even though 90% said banks supplied sufficient funds.
- Sector performance was uneven with automotive singled out for strong growth while machine tools lagged, exports showed improvement and FICCI warned that tariffs, trade limits, skill gaps and demand uncertainty will likely restrain near-term capacity investment.