The Association of Metallurgical Industrialists of the Argentine Republic (ADIMRA) reported that metallurgical activity experienced an increase of 1.2% in January compared to December. However, despite this increase, strategic sectors such as foundry and auto parts continue to experience a decline.
The report prepared by the Economic Studies Department of ADIMRA revealed that metallurgical activity in January 2025 showed a year-on-year growth of 2.6%, although the installed capacity decreased by nearly 5 percentage points compared to the previous month, standing at 47.6%. Last year, the sector suffered an accumulated decrease of 12.1%.
In sectoral terms, Agricultural Machinery (16.4%) and Bodies and Trailers (15.3%) were the sectors that experienced the largest year-on-year increase, being fundamental to the overall average. On the other hand, sectors such as foundry (-11.9%) and auto parts manufacturers (-7.1%) continue to be the most affected.
The president of ADIMRA, Elio Del Re, pointed out that despite the recovery shown by the indicators, it is important to consider that it is compared to a period of deep contraction in 2024. Del Re highlighted the need to strengthen productivity and competitiveness to achieve sustainable growth through balanced industrial integration.
Regarding provincial production, a greater increase was observed in Santa Fe (5.4%), influenced by the Agricultural Machinery sector. Other provinces also saw more moderate year-on-year growth in their production: Entre Ríos (2.1%); Buenos Aires (2.2%); Córdoba (3.6%) and Mendoza (3.8%).
Despite the contractions in activity, the level of employment in companies in the sector barely registered a year-on-year decrease of -1.2% and a slight retraction compared to December of -0.1%. Although there have been significant declines in activity, employment in the sector does not yet reflect a significant decrease.
