Industrial activity in Santa Fe fell 14% in the first quarter: the most affected areas

The industrial activity continues in negative territory. Manufacturing production in the province of Santa Fe traded lower in April and registered an interannual decrease of 11%, revealed the Industrial Federation of Santa Fe (Fisfe).

In this way, a deep drop of 14% accumulates in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, indicates the latest report from the reference entity of the industry.

“In April 2024, as in the previous five months, the Fisfe industrial production index was substantially below the level reached in the years 2021, 2022 and 2023,” they highlighted in the report “Industrial news of Santa Fe “.

The text also warns that in the province of Santa Fe employment is deteriorating. The total number of salaried workers registered in the sector’s set of economic activities faced for the first time in the months of February and March 2024 declines of 0.5% and 1.5% year-on-year respectively. “This represented a decrease of 2,800 and 7,900 people with registered salaried employment in relation to the same period of the previous year,” it was indicated.

90% of the items registered falls

Fisfe specified that 90% of the industrial branches analyzed in the province of Santa Fe registered an interannual drop in their production during the fourth month of the year. More than 50 manufacturing activities surveyed recorded a decrease of around 20.5%. Reiterating the panorama of the previous five months, the lower activity was generalized and pronounced.

The branches of activity with the greatest contribution to the industrial product in the province of Santa Fe presented the following results: oilseed grinding (+32.4%), metal products for structural use (+8.9%), auto parts (-0. 9%), maq. special use (-4.3%), cereal milling (-5.0%), paper and paper products (-5.8%), cold cuts and sausages (-6.1%), maq. general purpose (-9.7%), beef (-12.9%), publishing and printing (-16.5%), clothing (-17.3%), plastic manufactures (-22, 1%), dairy products (-23.1%), metal products and metal working services (-28.1%), bodywork-trailers (-36.2%), agricultural machinery (-36.5%) , furniture and mattresses (-39.9%), steel industry (-57.4%), and motor vehicles (-75.2%).

Fisfe warns that five manufacturing activities registered significant production declines in the month of April 2024, accounting for a large part of the -11.0% drop observed by the entire manufacturing industry in the province. Steel industry (-5.1 pp), agricultural machinery (-1.9 pp), motor vehicles (-1.6 pp), dairy products (-1.5 pp), and metal products and metal working services (- 1.4 pp), were the activities with the greatest negative impact on the interannual variation of the industrial production index.

The situation by sector in Santa Fe

For its part, oilseed milling was the sector activity with the greatest positive contribution (+6.6 pp). However, discounting this particular situation linked to the low comparison base that 2023 represented due to the drought, industrial production in the province of Santa Fe would have registered a decrease of 18.4% year-on-year in April.

The processing of soybeans in the province of Santa Fe registered an expansion of 32.4% year-on-year in the month of April 2024, while soybean oil production grew by 39.6%. In four months of 2024, the level of activity in the industrial link of the soybean value chain presented a clear recovery compared to the previous year, a result derived from the best agricultural campaign. In the first quarter of 2024, soybean industrialization exceeded 10.2 million tons; that is, 2.7 million tons above 2023. In addition, the production of soybean oil, which reached 2.05 million tons, accumulated an increase of 580 thousand tons compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, after several months of inactivity, soy biodiesel exports were completed in April 2024, boosting sectoral activity in the province of Santa Fe. External sales reached 53 thousand tons, while total production was 84 thousand tons. .

On the other hand, bovine slaughter in the province of Santa Fe presented drops of 12.9% and 8.0% year-on-year respectively in April and May 2024. In five months, the sectoral indicator showed a decline of 6.8% compared to the same period last year, equivalent to a decrease of 68 thousand heads processed. The lower sectoral activity is explained by the fall in domestic consumption of beef, which in four months decreased by 17.7%, reaching only 43.5 kilograms per person per year.

The report details that in Santa Fe, pig slaughter registered an increase of 12.1% year-on-year in the month of April 2024. In the first four months, 502 thousand heads of pigs were processed, representing an improvement of 3.6% year-on-year.

One of the sectors in red is the steel industry. Steel production in Santa Fe showed a new and marked contraction of 57.4% year-on-year in April 2024, accumulating a decrease of 49.2% in four months compared to the same period of the previous year. In the case of laminated products, the level of activity fell by 59.1% in April, and by 54.4% in the first four months.

“Since the end of 2023, the lower demand for steel products from national public works severely limits sectoral activity in our province. “The volume produced in the first four months of 2024 was the lowest in the historical series, even below the records of 2009 and 2020. For the month of May, the advanced data show the continuity of the decline in activity,” They pointed out from Fisfe.

Meanwhile, the level of activity of the metallurgical industry in Santa Fe presented a new decrease of 27.7% year-on-year in April 2024. From December 2023 to the present, sectoral production has dropped by close to 30% year-on-year. Thus, at the end of the first quarter of 2024, metallurgical production accumulated a contraction of 31.7% compared to the same period in 2023.

“The lower internal demand for consumer and investment goods, and the decline in construction activity driven by the paralysis of national public works are affecting the Santa Fe metallurgical industry,” they stressed.

Inside the metallurgical complex in April 2024, the following results were observed: smelting (-11.8%); metal products for structural use (+8.9%); other metal products and work services (-28.1%); general purpose machinery (-9.7%); agricultural machinery (-36.5%); special use machinery (-4.3%); household appliances (-41.0%); electrical equipment and appliances (-28.0%); bodies and trailers (-32.1%); auto parts (-0.9%), and motorcycles (-0.9%). 87% of the metallurgical sectors analyzed showed lower activity compared to the previous year.

What about exports?

In the first four months of 2024, exports of manufactured goods of agricultural origin (MOA) originating in Santa Fe presented an improvement of 42% in net weight, but an increase of only 9.3% in value. The oilseed complex accounts for a large part of the recovery in volume (flours +51.5%, and oils +28.8%), along with meat (+19.9%) and dairy products (+6.4%). However, in these four large segments the lower prices of their exports limited the positive effect. External sales of flour and oils grew by 1.75 million tons compared to the previous year.

The international commercialization of manufactured goods of industrial origin (MOI) originating in Santa Fe faced strong setbacks, this being another additional element of the lower manufacturing activity. In four months of 2024 they fell 42.8% and 17.8% in value and volume respectively. This performance is explained by lower exports of chemical products (biodiesel operations were completed but only in April), plastic manufacturing, capital goods and the automotive industry. In value the drop reached 227 million dollars.

Another indicator that confirms the situation of the sector is the demand for electrical energy from large industrial users active in Santa Fe. An important group registered a decrease of 21.7% and 18.2% year-on-year respectively in April and May 2024. In the first five months of 2024, electricity consumption accumulated a decline of 17.3% compared to the same period of the previous year, thus confirming the drop in manufacturing activity. From a sector perspective, in four large steel plants active in Santa Fe in May 2024, the demand for electrical energy contracted by 37.5% year-on-year, and by 38.5% in the accumulated measurement as of the fifth month of the year.

For its part, the energy demand in eleven plants that make up the oilseed complex showed a growth of 22.6% year-on-year in the month of May 2024, and an improvement of 29.3% in five months. In the rest of the industrial activities, a drop in the demand for electrical energy of close to 5.0% was observed in the period January-May 2024 compared to the previous year.