Metallurgical activity is picking up, but it's still far from its best days: low capacity utilization and falling employment

Despite showing a slight year-on-year improvement , metallurgical activity remains far from its historical levels, with a stagnant sector that is unable to regain ground or generate new jobs. This was revealed in the latest ADIMRA report, which showed 2.3% growth in June compared to the same month in 2023, but with a very low comparison base , following a 17.3% drop in June of last year .

In a monthly comparison, NA reported, the increase was just 0.1% compared to May , confirming a trend toward a productive plateau . The use of installed capacity stood at 45.9% , reflecting the underutilization of the industrial sector and the difficulty in reactivating employment , which continues to decline.

" While local industry shows signs of stagnation, the influx of imported products is growing at a monthly rate of 5% ," warned Elio Del Re , president of the business association. For the industrial leader, the outlook requires " an active policy aimed at strengthening the productive structure and recovering lost ground."

The analysis by category reveals the heterogeneity within the sector . While Agricultural Machinery and Bodywork and Trailers achieved increases of up to 14.3% , strategic sectors such as Auto Parts (-2.6%) and Capital Goods (-1.2%) showed a decline.

Excluding the sectors that performed positively, the rest of the metallurgical sector fell 0.1% year-on-year , even compared to June 2023, amid the crisis. This shows that the rebound is very partial and falls short of consolidating a broad recovery .

In the regional breakdown, Santa Fe (4.3%) and Córdoba (2.5%) were the provinces with the best performance, driven mainly by the good performance of agricultural machinery.

In contrast, Buenos Aires (-0.9%) and Mendoza (-0.7%) again showed declines, a sign of a lack of dynamism affecting key sectors. Entre Ríos saw a modest increase of 1.5% , but with no clear signs of medium-term consolidation.

One of the most significant pieces of information in the report is the 2.2% drop in metalworking employment compared to June 2023. Compared to May, there was only a 0.3% improvement, indicating that activity is not generating enough momentum to create sustainable jobs .

For Del Re, “ growth without job creation or full use of installed capacity is a warning sign ,” and he added: “ We need urgent measures to defend domestic industry and allow it to compete equally with imported goods .”