The deterioration of the European Foundry Industry Sentiment in June was less marked than the slowdown of the Business Climate Indicator. Both the assessment of the current status and the expectations for the next six months eased compared to the previous month. The decline of the foundry sentiment was driven by lower confidence in all casting materials. This was particularly due to the weaker performance of the foundries´ main customer industries – the automotive and general engineering sector – in comparison to the high level in 2018.
Moreover, the ongoing trade dispute between the US and EU could have an impact on the mood of the European foundry industry in the coming months as the US administration has proposed placing tariffs also on a few casting components. This shows that the geopolitical uncertainties are not decreasing.
The FISI – European Foundry Industry Sentiment Indicator – is the earliest available composite indicator providing information on the European foundry industry performance. It is published by the European Foundry Association (CAEF) every month and is based on survey responses of the European foundry industry. The CAEF members are asked to give their assessment of the current business situation in the foundry sector and their expectations for the next six months.
The BCI – Business Climate Indicator – is an indicator published by the European Commission. The BCI evaluates development conditions of the manufacturing sector in the euro area every month and uses five balances of opinion from industry survey: production trends, order books, export order books, stocks and production expectations.
Background information on CAEF:
CAEF is the umbrella organisation of the national European foundry associations. The organisation, founded in 1953, has 22 European member states and works to promote the economical, technical, legal and social interests of the European foundry industry. At the same time, CAEF implements activities which aim at developing national foundry industries and co-ordinating their shared international interests. The General Secretariat is situated in Düsseldorf since 1997.
The European foundry industry is structured in 4 700 companies. Nearly 300 000 employees are generating a turnover of 43 billion Euro. European foundries are recruiting 20 000 workers and engineers per year. The main customer industries are e.g. the automotive sector, the general engineering industry and the building industry as well as the electrical engineering industry. No industrial sector exists without using casted components.
You may find further information at<link https: www.caef.eu external-link-new-window external link in new> <link https: www.caef.eu external-link-new-window external link in new>www.caef.eu<link https: www.caef.eu external-link-new-window external link in new>.
