Survey points to optimism in the construction industry and investment intentions

The Industrial Construction Survey survey, released by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), indicates that the sector remains optimistic in March 2023. The registered expectations were above the 50-point dividing line, which separates optimism from pessimism. The sector is confident in relation to the growth of the activity level; the launch of new ventures and services; purchasing raw materials; and the number of employees.

The Construction Industry Entrepreneur Confidence Index (ICEI-Construction) also shows that sector entrepreneurs remain confident. The index stood at 51.1 points, despite a 0.6 point drop in March, due to a more negative assessment of current conditions. For the president of the Civil Construction Industry Union of the Federal District (Sinduscon-DF), Dionyzio Klavdianos, this optimism is natural.

“He remains optimistic because we are talking about a new government. First, the civil construction sector was on the rise, it remains on the rise, despite a drop in pace, but it continues to grow. This is the scenario, see last year’s GDP result, see the continued growth this year. So it is natural that optimism remains”, he points out.

The investment intention of the construction industry increased by 0.6 points from February to March. According to the survey, the result extends the distance of the index in relation to the historical average of 36.6 points.

The evolution of the construction industry activity level registered 46 points from January to February 2023 and was below the dividing line, which indicates that there was a decrease in the indicator. However, the number recorded in the second month of the year is above the historical average for the month. According to the survey, this means that the fall was less intense and widespread than in other years.

“The same happened with the rate of evolution of the number of employees. It stood at 47.6 points in February 2023, but it’s a common retreat for that period. The drop is smaller than usual for the period. This is because the February 2023 index is much higher than the historical average for the month, of 44.9 points”, explains Marcelo Azevedo, manager of Economic Analysis at CNI.

Dionyzio Klavdianos, from Sinduscon, explains that the retreat is natural for the period. “The drop in activity and in the level of employment is natural: in the first place because it is still the rainy season. It is natural for the sector to reduce activities. Another issue to take into account is that there was indeed a transition of government and what is actually going to be done in terms of the fiscal package, the economic package is being awaited”, he says.

With a drop of one percentage point, the Operational Capacity Utilization (UCO) was 65% between January and February, which demonstrates a high level of industrial activity. In the survey, between the 1st and the 9th of March, 357 companies were consulted — 142 small, 143 medium and 72 large.