86 Industrial Plants Register Over 100% Production Growth

“The Project and Planning Department of the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade monitors the production of 40 industrial products by 1,000 industrial and mining enterprises every month. These 1,000 enterprises account for more than 60% of the added value of the country’s industries and mining sector,” he said. 

“During the 10 months to Jan. 19, out of 319 enterprises, 148 registered a production growth of 20-50%, 40 posted growth rates of 50-70%, 45 saw a production increase of 70-100% and 86 registered more than 100% growth in their output compared with the same period of last year,” he was quoted as saying by ISNA.

“These 319 economic enterprises are among major businesses in the statistical population; they are engaged in automotive manufacturing, production of home appliances, minerals and healthcare products.”

According to the ministry’s latest report, out of 29 select industrial items, the production of 20 items increased between 0.3% and 554% during the 10 months to Jan. 19. 

The production of home appliances grew 39.6% to reach 3.5 million, the sharpest decline was registered in the production of vegetable oils in recent months.

Industrial PMI About to Break Above Threshold

The Purchasing Managers’ Index for industries during the 10th month of the current fiscal year (Dec. 21, 2020-Jan. 19) settled at 49.79 from 49.30 in the preceding month (Nov. 21-Dec. 20, 2020), indicating a 0.49-point or a 0.99% increase.

The announcement was made by the Statistics and Economic Analysis Center of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture. The center is measuring PMI, known by its Farsi acronym Shamekh, in Iran for the past 28 months. 

PMI is an indicator of economic health for manufacturing and services sectors. It provides information about current business conditions to companies’ decision-makers, analysts and purchasing managers. 

The headline PMI is a number from 0 to 100. A PMI above 50 represents an expansion when compared with the previous month. A PMI reading under 50 represents a contraction and a reading at 50 indicates no change. The further away from 50, the greater the level of change. 

PMI is based on a monthly survey sent to senior executives of more than 400 companies. It is based on five major survey areas: new orders (30%), raw material inventory (10%), production (25%), supplier deliveries (15%) and employment (20%). 

The survey poses 12 questions about business conditions and any changes, whether it is improving, no changes or deteriorating. 

Industries categorized as “others” posted the highest PMI with a reading of 58.93 while “non-metal mineral industries” registered the lowest PMI reading with 41.92. 

The “production” sub-index for Iran’s industrial sector increased from 47.94 in the eighth month (Oct. 22-Nov. 20, 2020) to 50.75 in the ninth month (Nov. 21-Dec. 20, 2020) but fell to 48.65 in the 10th month (Dec. 21, 2020-Jan. 19).  

“Vehicle and spare parts industries” recorded the highest PMI of the production sub-index with a reading of 63.33 while non-metal minerals registered the lowest PMI with a reading of 34.62. 

The “new orders” sub-index slid from 44.02 in the month ending Nov. 20 to 43.51 in the month ending Dec. 20 but jumped to 44.80 in the month ending Jan. 19, with the top performing industries being “rubber and plastic” (72.22) and worst being “non-metal minerals” (26.92). 

The “supplier deliveries” sub-index, which measures how fast deliveries are made, improved from 55.32 in the month ending Nov. 20 to 56.43 in the month ending Dec. 20 to 58.49 in the month ending Jan. 19.   

The highest supplier deliveries PMI was posted by “textile industries” and “vehicle and spare parts” with a reading of 66.67 and the lowest was recorded for “rubber and plastic industries” and “non-metal minerals” with a reading of 50. 

The “raw material inventory” sub-index grew from 42.49 in the month ending Nov. 20 to 48.92 in the month ending Dec. 20 but fell to 46.29 in the month ending Jan. 19.  

“Non-metal minerals” posted the highest PMI (69.23) for the “raw material inventory” sub-index while “food industries” registered the lowest PMI reading of 29.03 among all groups. 

The PMI reading of “employment” sub-index stood above the threshold. It increased from 49.43 in the month ending Nov. 20 to 51 in the month ending Dec. 20 to 53.94 in the month ending Jan. 19.

“Clothing and leather industries” posted the highest employment PMI reading (61.54) whereas “wood, paper and furniture” posted the lowest PMI of the sub-index (46.88).

March 20-Dec. 20 Industrial Permits in Review 

A total of 3.65 quadrillion rials ($14.6 billion) worth of investments are expected to be made in the industrial units, for which establishment permits were issued during the nine months, showing an increase of 50% compared with the similar period of last year.

A total of 27,953 establishment permits were issued over the period, registering a 40.3% growth year-on-year. 

These projects are expected to create 627,548 jobs, which is 37.8% more compared with the year before, the latest report released by the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade shows.

A total of 1.48 quadrillion rials ($5.92 billion) are estimated to have been invested in projects with operating licenses during the nine-month period under review, indicating a 282.2% hike year-on-year.

An aggregate of 5,083 operating licenses were issued during the period, which shows an 8.3% rise YOY. These projects are expected to create 97,012 jobs, 28.6% more compared with last year’s corresponding period.

A total of 462 mineral production permits were issued during the period, which have created 3,704 jobs, registering a 3.7% rise and 0.3% decline respectively compared with the similar period of last year.

Exploration costs stood at 844 billion rials ($3.37 million), registering a 9% increase YOY.