–14%
was the level to which the business confidence index in building materials production fell in May of this year.
This was the worst result among other industrial sectors (the index in manufacturing is -7% on average). The index was lower than in the chronic outsiders – ‘machine builders’ and ‘textile manufacturers’ – and it has been declining for the fifth consecutive month. The industry has seen declining demand, as well as operational and financial performance.
The sufficiently sharp deterioration of the business climate in building materials production speaks to the depressed condition of the construction sector itself. That said, many manufacturers of building materials are monopolists in regional markets and attempt to compensate for the decline in primary operating performance indicators with price increases for their products, which only aggravates the situation and creates additional difficulties for builders.
These data are presented in a new Monitoring the Business Climate in the Construction Sector study that was conducted in the second quarter of 2015 by the Centre for Business Tendency Studies at the HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge (ISSEK).
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30%
of entrepreneurs in service industries reported a decrease in consumer demand for their services in the fourth quarter of 2015.
2%
of representatives of small manufacturing companies who are prepared to take out long-term loans to develop and modernize their operations would agree to do so at rates comparable to the current rates of 18-21%.
15%
of directors at Russian industrial companies in October reported a decrease in the number of employees compared to September.
+4%
was the index of business confidence in retail trade. The indicator’s value increased after six months of being in a critical zone near zero.
5%
of industrial managers view the current economic situation at their enterprises as ‘favourable’.
-12%
was the level to which the business confidence index in the service sector fell in the first quarter of 2015. This is a record decline. For the year, the value of the index has fallen by 10 percentage points.
30%
of entrepreneurs in the retail sector reported that they had reduced headcount in their organizations in the fourth quarter of 2014. Compared with the beginning of the year, the trend with respect to headcount reductions has doubled.
31%
of construction companies are experiencing a shortage in graduates from educational institutions who have either technical training or who specialize in a trade.
72%
of Russian managers at small industrial companies note that one of the main factors limiting production is the uncertainty surrounding the current economic situation.