| Work Detail |
The construction item closed 2019 with negative indicators. It is that the activity fell 7.3% in December in relation to November and had a drop of 6.4% year-on-year, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec).
In Misiones since that month signs of reactivation were observed in public works. From the Construction Company Missionary Chamber (Cameca) they pointed out that calls for tenders were made for the construction of houses within the provincial orbit, in a month of little movement of the matter. At this point, they stressed that the demand was maintained thanks to the state policies of the provincial government on the matter.
Likewise, industry leaders told this media that the call is to build 1,900 properties and generated various expectations to get out of the crisis that affected the sector in recent years.
Regarding construction supplies, they indicated that, in the last quarter of 2019 and during January, sales were above inflation and that thanks to promotions and offers, a decrease in purchase was avoided.
In rebound
“Generally, the end of the year and the first months are times with little demand in the construction sector. On December 26, the movement began with a call for bids from Iprodha for 1,900 traditional homes - of masonry - by Iprodha, ”said Juan Carlos Butiuk, vice president of Cameca.
In dialogue with El Territorio, he called this call a first sign of reactivation of public works at a general level.
"Public works in Misiones was always a State policy, which allowed many of the small companies to continue with the activity and which allowed the scaffolding to be sustained," he stressed.
At the same time that he considered: “This tender that was held at the end of December augurs a good outlook for the coming months, and that means that some things are being accommodated before, to then fully roll the machines. And it also generates a lot of optimism in all levels of the construction sector. ”
He stated that in recent years SMEs in the construction sector found themselves in a deep crisis that, in effect, led to a decrease in the number of registered workers.
For his part, Alejandro Cáceres Barrios, president of the Chamber of Construction Argentina, Misiones delegation, commented that through the efforts of the provincial government, public works in the provincial territory remained stable, when at a national level the number of tenders decreased during the administration. of former President Mauricio Macri.
"About the end of last year there was a very important call for bids, both for the time and quantity that we did not usually have at that time of year," he said.
He added that between December and February activity decreases, but that they are key months to observe the outlook for the rest of the year.
Expectations
The Minister of Public Works of the Nation, Gabriel Katopodis, stated in public statements that "President Alberto Fernández entrusted me to restart public work in Argentina, as a fundamental input to combat hunger and poverty in our country" .
In this regard, Butiuk stressed: "There were meetings in Buenos Aires to define lines of action to pick up the activity, since Cameca is within the Confederation of Construction SMEs, and we are advancing in the state of affairs of our region to achieve national decisions."
He described as positive the decision of the Nation of the moratorium with reductions of 42% for small and medium-sized companies throughout the country "which will imply putting the situation in order to get ahead" and stressed that "it deepens the lines of work between the Nation and the province "
While Cáceres Barrios pointed out that from the Construction Chamber "there are many expectations for the announcements, even more so for SME companies that are dedicated to architecture, which were also affected".
"They talked about reactivating the Ministry of Habitat for the construction of houses, and it is a fundamental point for SMEs, since much of the demand comes from the Nation and the provinces for new buildings," he stressed.
Finally, the construction benchmark spoke about housing demand and said that, with a quick revival of the economy, the needs in this area will gradually be met.
“At the moment, housing demand will not be able to be quickly covered, but with the favorable winds we will be able to accompany those requests. There is a delay at this point because, in the last four years, the Nation has not built houses and they have not enacted national programs, ”he said.
Sales on the rise
During the last quarter of 2019 and in January of this year, the sales of construction materials had a marked growth.
Victoria Farías Walter, manager of the Bercomat Family design and materials show, stated that "sales were higher than inflation, which gives a positive outlook for the construction sector and represented the best months in terms of sales, despite the fact that January it is a month with low demand due to seasonality ”.
He attributed the increase in sales to offers and promotions, which encouraged investment in construction.
“The client prefers to invest in the building part than in other types of assets and, during January, took advantage of promotions on the commercial lists, which ranged from 25 to 40 percent. This prevented a drop in sales, given the month. Also, a reactivation was observed, not only of the public works, but of the private sector as well ”, he concluded.
The sector closed with a fall of 7.9% in 2019
As Indec reported yesterday, the synthetic indicator of construction activity (Isac) showed a drop of 6.4% compared to December 2018, and the accumulated of 2019 in the index showed a decrease of 7.9%, in compared to 2018.
Likewise, the seasonally adjusted series index showed a negative variation of 7.3% compared to November last year, and the trend-cycle index registered a decrease of 1.8% also in relation to last month.
In this way, 2019 ended in all its months with negative values ??in one of the key areas of the Argentine economy.
The statistical entity also specified the data on the consumption of inputs for construction, which, in relation to the same month of 2018, had drops of 47% in asphalt, 26% in processed concrete and 25% in the rest of the inputs, which includes faucets, seamless steel tubes, and construction glass.)
In addition, sales of 20.6% were recorded in terms of sales of granite and limestone mosaics, 10.6% decrease in gypsum boards, 9.4% in Portland cement, 7.5% in paints of construction and 3% in round iron and steels for construction.
Meanwhile, increases of 27.1% were observed in ceramic floors and coatings, 19.8% in lime, 17.8% in ceramic sanitary ware, 15.5% in hollow bricks and 3.6% in plaster.
On the other hand, according to the variations of the accumulated during 2019 as a whole, and in relation to 2018, the biggest drop in sales was registered in the asphalt, which fell 16.7% in sales. Round iron and steels for construction followed with 11.6% each and 9.5% ceramic floors and cladding.
Regarding jobs within the sector, at the national level there was a drop of 9.2%, since a total of 397,905 salaried workers in construction were recorded.
In this way, the last year of Mauricio Macris administration ended with strong falls in general in the entire construction sector.
The industry decreased 6.4% last year
In December 2019, the manufacturing industrial production index (manufacturing IPI) shows an increase of 1.2% compared to the same month of 2018. The accumulated index for 2019 shows a decrease of 6.4% compared to 2018. In December in 2019 compared to December 2018, the food and beverages division registered a 7.2% rise, while tobacco products fell 3.7%. On the other hand, textile products rose 9.2% in the last year. In the case of clothing, leather and footwear it showed a decrease of 6.1%, wood, paper, publishing and printing rose 7.0%. Oil, coke and nuclear fuel refining exhibited an increase of 2.0%. Chemicals and substances decreased by 1.0%. For rubber and plastic products, industrial performance increased 2.2%. Metal products, meanwhile, It was one of the items that fell the most, with a decrease of 18.1%. In the case of transport, the losses reached 16%. The list of industries closed with the categories furniture and mattresses, and other manufacturing industries, which rose 3.6% last year. |
