In Brazil, owners of small businesses are optimistic regarding 2010, according to the Industrial Confidence Index of January 2010. The segment’s confidence index has gone from 63.1%, in October, 2009 to 66.7% this month, an increase of 3.6 %.
The figure is relevant because confident businessmen tend to increase investment and production in order to meet the expected growth in demand.
The enthusiasm of small and medium businesses has also increased. The confidence of medium companies has gone from 65.9% to 68.7% (growth of 2.8%), and the rate of large businesses totaled 70.1%, as against 68.1% in October 2009. The Industrial Confidence Index was disclosed this week by the National Confederation of Industries (CNI).
The overall index, for all company sizes, was 68.7%, the highest ever recorded since 1999. In 2010, the rate rose 2.8% compared with October 2009, and has grown 21.3% since January 2009, when the confidence of businessmen reached its lowest level, with the onset of the international crisis.
The survey was elaborated between the 4th and the 22nd this month. The questionnaire was completed by 1,431 companies across the country, of which 792 were small (20 to 99 employees), 427 were medium and 212 were large. The Industrial Confidence Index is used for detecting changes in industrial output trends.
The index for the processing industry increased for the fourth time in a row and reached an all-time high at 67.7%. All of the processing industry sectors surveyed have recorded confidence indexes higher than 60% and most have shown growth in comparison with July. The indexes for the Cleaning and Perfumery and Furniture sectors recorded the sharpest declines – 4.1% and 8.8%, respectively. The sectors whose rates increased the most were alcohol and wood, with growth of over 10%.
The indexes for the extraction and civil construction industries are also high. The extraction industry’s confidence index remained virtually stable, having gone from 65% to 65.2%. The confidence index of the civil construction industry, a segment that was included this month, was the highest of all sectors surveyed, at 68.9%.
