Iron products sector grows 5.5%
Gazeta Mercantil - 01/22/2009
The difficult situation of the companies of the steel chain is not reflected in the segment of tools, machining and iron and metal products. In spite of the weak demand for steel seen all over the world, the industries of the area foresee that the production must at least be kept and grow to 2% in 2009, according to a forecast of the Union of the Industry of Iron Products, Metals and Tools in General in the State of São Paulo (Sinafer). The increase is below the estimated for 2008, when the entity calculates the segment sold R$ 16.8 billion (US$ 9.18 billion), 5.5% above the registered in the previous year. To Sinafer, there should be a reaction from the second half of this year on. According to the Union, the recent depreciation of the Real should bring favorable results for some segments represented by Sinafer, mainly for the exporters and manufacturers of tools and silverware that had been suffering with the terrible competition from the imported products. "The pressure on the cost of manpower shall also decrease", affirmed José Duílio Justi, president of the entity, in an announcement. The exports will be positively affected by the foreign exchange rate, but they should be adversely affected by the reduction in the volume and by the requests for discounts the importing countries are making because of the depreciation of their money. In the period from January to October of 2008 alone, exports increased nearly 20%, amounting to US$ 660 million, intended, mainly, to the United States (16% out of the total), Argentina (13%), the Netherlands (12%) and Mexico (10%). Imports had an even greater increase, of 34%, to US$ 1.3 billion, with purchases mainly from China.