The Industrial Climate Indicator reaches its best figure in the last 20 years in December

The Industrial Climate Indicator in Spain (ICI) rose 2.1 points in December compared to the previous month, reaching a value of 5.9 points. The indicator continues at maximum values ​​both so far this year and above the levels reached two decades ago (since June 2000, when it also registered a value of 5.9 points). In year-on-year terms, as in previous months, the indicator experienced a significant improvement, with a value 13.8 points higher than that of December 2020.

For the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, “it is a very positive sign that this indicator reaches record figures in the last twenty years because it indicates that industrial activity is recovering and has good prospects for the coming months. Government Industry is a priority sector and has an ambitious investment plan that aims to improve the competitiveness of Spanish industry. The results of this plan are already being seen as they can be seen month after month in the evolution of the different short-term indicators , which show an improvement trend in Spanish industry, a key sector for our economy “.

The positive value of 5.9 points of the December ICI is mainly determined by the positive balance both in the level of order book (+11.6 points) and in production expectations (+9.6 points). These values ​​are offset by the balance at the stock level (3.4 points), which is at the usual values ​​for this indicator.

In December 2021, employment expectations for the next three months stood at 3.0 points, confirming a level higher than before the start of the pandemic.

The ICI maintains its upward trend after the collapse of the start of the pandemic in 2020, when it fell by more than 30 points (to a level of -35.6 points in April 2020, the lowest level in more than a decade). As a result of this positive evolution, the indicator already exceeded pre-Covid levels at the beginning of 2021 and stands at the already indicated maximum since 2000.

Industrial activity began to recover from the second half of 2020, confirming its improvement in 2021. In this way, not only the ICI but also the other short-term indicators of the sector have already reached higher values ​​or are close to those registered previously as of March 2020.

The results are available on the website of the Ministry .

Based on the information provided by the Industrial Situation Survey, the Industrial Climate Indicator (ICI) is prepared, which is a summary of the perception of entrepreneurs in the industrial sector regarding the current situation of their activity and their prospects for future evolution. .