Overview

• ADIMRA reported July activity up 0.3% month over month and 1.8% year over year, yet output remains about 15% below historical peaks with utilization at one of the lowest levels in decades.
• Growth was concentrated in agricultural machinery (+16.8%) and bodywork and trailers (+17.7%); excluding those, the rest of the sector fell 1.0% year over year.
• Strategic branches continued to contract, including autoparts (-2.9%), foundry (-10.5%) and capital goods (-1.8%).
• Employment declined 1.9% from a year earlier and 0.1% from June, and surveys show three in four companies expect flat or lower production while 90% do not plan to increase headcount.
• ADIMRA’s Elio Del Re cautioned that record import volumes and approvals of used machinery without technical criteria are weakening local industry, as firms weigh suspensions and press for relief on municipal taxes and labor-insurance costs.