2023-09-09 04:15:00
According to data published yesterday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), Asturian industrial production accumulates a decrease of 5.1% between January and July of this year, the second largest decline among the autonomous communities, only behind Murcia ( -10.1%) and well above the national average (-0.1%). In contrast, Canarias (6.3%) and Madrid and Castilla y León (both with 4.6%) registered the highest accumulated increases. In the last month analyzed, July, the decrease in production in Asturias was 7.2% and this despite the fact that at the beginning of that month the ArcelorMittal blast furnace A in Gijón was reactivated, which for five months was inactive after suffering a spectacular fire and left the Asturian steel company with only one blast furnace, which limited the manufacture of steel products in the workshops that the multinational has in Gijón and Avilés.
The rising sectors.
In their report on industrial production data for July, analysts from the Asturian Society of Economic and Industrial Studies (Sadei) point out that “the start-up of the blast furnace without notable incidents has undoubtedly contributed to the improvement in productive results”. They also highlight as “positive aspects” the progress of the components sectors for renewable energy and shipbuilding. “Regional shipyards continue to take on the workload and already accumulate approximately 60% of the contracts for national shipyards,” highlights the report from the regional economic studies cabinet.
The downward sectors.
Regarding the negative circumstances that harm industrial activity, Sadei analysts highlight that “electric energy production remains one of the main burdens, declining in all forms of generation.” According to INE statistics, between January and July energy production in Asturias was reduced by 21.8% compared to the same period of the previous year, in which the production of the coal thermal plants that remain in Asturias had increased (after the closures of Lada and Narcea) in the context of the energy crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Sadei’s report also highlights that the food, beverage and tobacco branch “continues to be conditioned by the company closures that occurred in previous months”, referring mainly to the cessation of activity of the Danone factory in Salas, which has been acquired by the Dutch dairy multinational Royal A-ware, but has not yet reopened it. The analysts also highlight that the “chemical industry (which registers a year-on-year drop of -14.9%) and other non-metallic mineral products (4.6%) register decreases in their manufacturing level due to specific drops in demand or release of stocks “. Within the chemical sector, this week the German multinational Bayer announced the start of negotiations with worker representatives to adjust the workforce at the Lada plant in the face of the drop in demand for products that are manufactured with the active components that come out of the plant. Langrean factory. The SOMA-FITAG-UGT union has criticized Bayer for presenting the ERE, which affects 13 Lada workers, despite “the benefits obtained in recent years” by the company.
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