The level of demand for the foundry industry had a strong fall and It remained at 43.94% during the month of December, the lowest point in all of 2024. Additionally, 88% of companies experienced a drop in profitability and 55% reported a decrease in staffing during the last month of the year.
The Chamber of Foundry Industrialists of the Argentine Republic (CIFRA) published the Report of the Monthly activity of the sector of the month of December, which surveys the activity, demand and profitability of small, medium and large companies in the foundry sector throughout the country.
In Argentina, the foundry industry is mainly concentrated in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, and Córdoba. Most cases are made up SMEs companies and are characterized by having family management.
Foundry industry: industry demand
During the month of December, the demand of the foundry industry fell to a level of 43.94% and is the lowest of the entire year and consolidating the crisis that the sector is going through. Also, the industry presented a decrease in the use of installed capacity that went from 53.9% (November 2024) to 47.5%.
On the other hand, This month, 88% of companies presented a significant drop in profitability. A persistent trend toward a decline in business profitability is evident, with high percentages of companies reporting substantial or slight decreases. The most marked trend is in December, with 48.5% reporting a substantial decrease.
Despite the annual stagnation and low levels of demand, for foundries some segments such as automotive, agricultural machinery and the oil and gas sector could lead a recovery in activity.
Within the industry, there are increasingly fewer exports. Only 12.9% of those surveyed make shipments abroad, while 3.2% are in the process. 83.9% do not sell abroad.
image.png
Going forward, the sector has good expectations, 75% foresee future export orders, while 53.6% claim to have firm shipment orders.
Foundry industry: job losses
Amid the drop in demand for foundry activity, profitability and lower exports, companies had to reduce their permanent plants. Almost 55% of companies acknowledge that they had to reduce jobs.
36.36% indicate that they reduced it slightly, although 18.18% acknowledge that they had to make a substantial reduction. Another 42.42% stated that they kept the number of employees unchanged and 3.03% were able to achieve a slight increase.
Source: Ambito
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
