Brazil: Construction industry has best February in ten years

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The construction industry recorded the best February in ten years, reported the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) on March 21. Last month, the sector’s activity indicator stood at 48.2 points, the highest level since 2012, when it was at 49.4 points.

Despite the improvement, the indicator remained below the 50-point line, which indicates a drop in activity. According to CNI, the reduction in activity is typical for the period.

Concerning the index that measures employment in the construction industry, the indicator stood at 49.2 points. It is also at the best level for February since 2012. The index rose 1 point to 44.6 points regarding the intention to invest and is at the highest level for February months since 2014.

According to CNI, the drop in activity and hiring compared to January is part of February’s expectations. However, the approach of the indices to the 50-point level indicates a less widespread and less intense drop. The utilization of the operational capacity reached 65% last month, which, according to the entity, means a historically high level.

Despite the good performance in February, businesspeople’s expectations in the construction industry have begun to feel the effects of inflation and instability in the world economy. The construction industry’s Business Confidence Index (Icei) fell 1.3 points, to 55.3. As it is above the 50-point line, which separates confidence from lack of confidence, the index indicates that construction entrepreneurs are still confident, although optimism has retreated a bit.

For the Construction Industry Survey, 395 companies were interviewed between March 3 and 11. Of this total, 143 are small-sized, 172 medium-sized, and 80 large-sized companies.

With information from Agência Brasil