Brazil’s 156th Survey of the Manufacturing Sector (Sondagem Conjuntural da Indústria de Transformação), which is conducted by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV), took place between June 28 and July 11.
The results show that manufacturers made their lowest evaluation of the sector in the last two years. Representatives of 462 companies were interviewed during the survey.
Only 16% of those interviewed said that business was good. A total of 33% said it was weak. The difference between the two evaluations, at 17 percentage points, is the biggest since July 2003.
Another disparate result in the survey was the difference between answers regarding inventories. Only 1% said their inventories were insufficient, while 19% said they were excessive. The FGV says that shows clearly that as supply outruns demand, inventories are rising.
The FGV declared that the survey shows a tendency for a further decrease in activity in the second half.
“Companies are arriving in July with the worse situation evaluations in two years and even worse forecasts for the next few months,” says a FGV report on the survey.
ABr – www.radiobras.gov.br
