The European Foundry Sentiment Indicator (FISI) continues its recovery for the sixth consecutive month. In May it closed at 108.3 index points, around 1.1 points above the
previous month's level.
The positive trend continues to be driven equally by an improved assessment of the situation and more optimistic expectations of the European foundries. While both aspects are better rated by the ferrous foundries compared to the previous month, the current situation of the non-ferrous foundries has not improved recently. However, their expectations for the next six months have increased significantly.
The continued improvement in expectations is very promising. Nevertheless, problems in the industrial supply chains and material bottlenecks threaten further development. In the fragile situation, disruptions in the supply chains for other intermediate products from customers of casting products can also negatively affect call-offs and partially jeopardise the meanwhile good capacity utilisation of the foundries.
At the same time, the Business Climate Indicator (BCI) also continues to improve. After the record increase in the previous month, the recovery continues dynamically in May. The increase of 0.38 points raises the index to the new level of 1.5 points. Easing of contact restrictions in large parts of Europe has a particularly positive effect on the gastronomy and tourism sectors. At the same time, the consumer spending is increasing overall.
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 CAEF the European Foundry Association 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.
