Nearly 30% of industrialists consider the current business situation in the sector to be "bad" (29.2%). Only 6.2% describe it as good, while 64.7% rate it as "normal."
Regarding the financial situation, 23% consider it "bad" versus 10% who find it "good" and 67% normal. The survey also takes into account the situation regarding access to credit: 7% consider it "easy," 28% difficult, and 65% normal.
On the other hand, more than half of industrialists (52.1%) believe that the most important factor limiting their capacity to increase production is insufficient domestic demand. Another 10% cite competition from imported products. These two factors have remained the most significant in recent months.
Meanwhile, for the next three months — from July to September — more industrial sector business leaders believe that production volume, the number of employed workers, and hours worked will decrease than those who see an upward trend.
These conclusions stem from the INDEC Survey (Business Trends, manufacturing industry), which, measured against June 2025 figures, saw the Business Confidence Index shift from -16.8% to -17.8%. For the following three months (July, August, and September), only 3.8% expect to hire more workers, compared to 16.1% who believe they will need to reduce their workforce. The remainder — the majority — maintain they will keep the current situation unchanged.
In the segment of hours worked, the outlook is also adverse: 5.6% expect they will need to increase them, against 18.2% who believe they will need to reduce them. The remainder (76.2%) say they "will not change."
Regarding production volume, 14.1% believe it "will increase," but 17.1% expect it "will decrease."
In contrast, regarding exports, 16.0% say they will increase, 12.4% that they will decrease, and the remainder — 71.6% — anticipate no changes.
INDEC clarifies that the Manufacturing Industry Trends series began in January 2025, and the purpose of this statistic is to gather the opinions of managers — such as executives, general managers, production managers, sales or finance managers, or similar positions — with business experience, regarding the performance of their business for each month drawing to a close and their expectations for each upcoming quarter.
Since January of last year, when the series began, the Business Confidence Index for industrialists has remained in negative territory, with variations.
In May 2026 — the latest official INDEC data — the manufacturing industry recorded a year-on-year decline of -5.6%.
