Argentina's metallurgical industry fell 6.2% year-on-year in January, and the utilization rate of installed capacity dropped to the lowest level in four years, according to a report from the Argentine Association of Metallurgical Industrialists (ADIMRA). In this way, the sector continues to operate far below its recent peak levels (-17.9%), similar to its worst moment during the pandemic in 2020. On a monthly comparison, it showed a slight improvement of 0.8% compared to the activity recorded in December 2025, according to the Argentine News Agency. The utilization of installed capacity deepened its deterioration, standing at 40.6%, which is the lowest record in the last 4 years. The report specified that “this level reflects a very limited use of the productive apparatus and confirms the recessive nature of the current industrial scenario”. In this context, the level of employment provided by sector companies records a year-on-year fall of -2.7% and, compared to December, had a retreat of -0.3%. Added to this context is the sustained growth of imports of metallurgical products, which reached a year-on-year increase of 14.8% in December (latest available data). Exports, for their part, recorded a year-on-year increase of 10.8%. From a sectoral point of view, the report indicated that “the outlook continues to be mostly contractive”. Agricultural Machinery (-3.4%) and Bodies and Trailers (-6.8%), which had led the rebound in the first half of the year, continued with a marked loss of dynamism, with the first case continuing its decline and the second showing negative figures for the first time in over 6 months. The rest of the metallurgical network remained in retreat: Foundries (-17.8%), Other Metal Products (-9.8%), Auto Parts (-8.5%), Electrical Equipment (-5.5%), Medical Equipment (-2.6%) and Capital Goods (-0.6%), registered persistent year-on-year declines, with Foundries again standing out as the most affected sector. The analysis by value chain reinforces this diagnosis. This complex scenario makes it essential to implement a comprehensive industrial policy. Likewise, he added that “the level of imports that continues to be at very high levels, together with a marked decline in consumption, configure a harmful and worrying panorama for national production and for the industrial employment it generates”.
The president of ADIMRA, Elio Del Re, warned that “the metallurgical activity begins the year at historically low levels, with high idle capacity, a fall in all sectors and without clear signs of reactivation”.
Prospects for the coming months also show no encouraging signs: in December, 7 out of 10 companies do not expect positive changes in their production for the next 3 months.
