Employers Cecot warned yesterday that industrial activity will slow down in the second half of the year and pointed out that the rise in the prices of goods, services and labor costs has had a strong impact on SMEs in the sector, which have seen their gross operating surpluses fall to a minimum or have even been placed at negative levels, which has put the payment of debts and economic viability at risk.
Faced with this situation, the president of Cecot, Xavier Panés, asked that the new government “design economic policies and rules that take into account the sectoral particularities of industrial companies” and that “protect and promote the competitiveness of SMEs”.
Yesterday, employers presented the new Industrial Barometer, which indicates that raw materials have experienced the largest increase in the last 25 years, with an average increase of 30% compared to 2019.
This has had a devastating effect on business profitability. The gross operating surplus was 9% in 2019. Cecot, which acknowledged that it does not have data on the total increase in costs, estimated that “with a 10% increase in costs, 7 of the 18 sectors enter negative surpluses, 3 are at zero and 8 remain below 5% of income”.
The employer’s adviser, Sebastià García, recalled that “industrial activity in Spain does not reach 20% of GDP”, and has not recovered pre-pandemic levels. “The total number of hours worked in 2019 was 840,000, while this 2023 we have 780,000”. Another factor of concern is the accumulation of stocks that is taking place.
As a green boost, Cecot pointed out that industrial exports in Catalonia have increased by 22% between January and April, an increase driven by the automotive sector, which grew by 81%.
According to the general secretary of Cecot, Oriol Alba, these data “should put us on alert”, as they show that “the viability of companies is at risk” and their ability to meet payment commitments or ICO loans. Alba asked to “avoid the comparison that is made between the profits of some large companies with the reality of the world of SMEs”.
Xavier Panés, for his part, valued the Government’s effort for reindustrialisation, but remarked that, in addition to attracting international investment, “it is essential to help SMEs to move forward”.
Finally, the general director of industry of the Generalitat, highlighted “the importance of the National Pact for Industry signed in the autumn and which meant an increase in investment of 75% and 3,200 million euros to transform the productive fabric”. Alcoba defended that “industrial policy must be based on evidence” and asked for it to have “stability” and for there to be “coordination of economic policy with the State, beyond the Next Generation funds”.
