Brasília – Idle time in Brazilian industry hit an all-time high in 2015, the National Federation of Industry reported this Friday (22). Capacity utilization reached 62% in December, the lowest level since records started being kept in January 2011.
Investment intentions shrank 0.8% in January 2016 from December 2015 to 41.6 points, according to the CNI’s Industrial Survey. The index ranges from 0 to 100 points and the higher the score, the bigger the intentions of investing.
Production also plummeted in December, to 35.5 points. In this case, scores lower than 50 show a decline in output over the preceding month.
The worker numbers index also fell short of 50 points at 41.5 in December, a sign that employment levels dropped in industry.
The sole increase was seen in export expectations for the next few months, whose score exceeded the 50-point threshold. The exported amount index rose from 50.1 points in December to 52.4 points in January.
Additionally, access to credit was scarce, with a 30.5 point score in the fourth quarter. Here, scores lower than 50 show dissatisfaction and difficulty obtaining credit.
As per the Industrial Survey, high tax burdens, weak demand and high electricity costs were the main issues facing industry in the final quarter of 2015.
This issue of the Industrial Survey was made between January 04th and 13th with 2,225 respondents, being 910 from small businesses, 815 from medium ones and 500 from large ones.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
