Investment in machinery and industrial equipment fell 11.3% during the first trimester of 2015 compared with the same period in 2014 according to a report by Uruguay’s Chamber of Industry.
Among imported capital goods the report highlighted decreases in packing machines, roasting ovens for metallurgy and boilers.
“This behavior is in large part aligned with the poor performance of industrial exports [from Uruguay] which has been dragging for some trimesters and worsened at the start of this year” reported Uruguay’s Chamber of Industry.
The Uruguayan sector which showed the greatest increase in investment was food, tobacco, and alcohol where investment increased 87.9% compared the previous year. Excluding this sector Uruguay’s investment fell 24.8%.
The sector’s increased investment came mostly from companies in the milk and beverage sub-sector. Lower than usual levels of investment in this sub-sector during 2014 explains the dramatic increase.
This Uruguayan Business Brief is a summarized translation of a news article that appeared in the Uruguayan newspaper El Observador. The original article is available in Spanish here. Uruguay Business Reports translation by Donovan Carberry. For more resources on Uruguayan Business visit the Uruguay Business Reports Store.
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