The data is still going down confidence of Italian companies in the manufacturing sector. In April, the seasonally adjusted index calculated by Istat stands at 89,5 points, against the 91,1 recorded in March. In the sector of capital goods production the index fell from 89,1 to 87,1, in that of consumer goods from 94,0 to 93,3 and in that of intermediate goods from 89,5 to 87,7. Expectations on production worsen, while the balances of assessments on order books and on the level of inventories remain unchanged.
According to the usual quarterly questions on the production capacity, in the first quarter of 2012 the degree of capacity utilization falls to 70% against 70,5% in the fourth quarter of 2011. The length of production ensured on the basis of the current order backlog drops from 3,1 to 3 months. In the first quarter, the share of operators reporting the presence of obstacles to production activity rose from 44% to 52%. In particular, the incidence of operators who report insufficient demand and financial constraints as the main obstacle is growing.
The only one a slightly positive signal comes from the confidence of businesses active in the construction sector, which rises to 82,9 points from 81,8 in March. Assessments on orders and construction plans improve, but expectations on employment worsen. In detail, the index rose from 71,7 to 75,9 in the construction of buildings and slightly decreased in civil engineering (from 86,2 to 86,1) and in specialized construction works (from 91,7 to 91,3, XNUMX).
