European foundries – no positive outlook

CAEF, the umbrella organization of the national European foundry associations, reports that the European foundries outlook is still not positive.

This still not positive outlook is reflected in the European Foundry Industry Sentiment (Fisi), which records a negative mood for the sixth consecutive month since February. The Business Climate Indicator (BCI) for the Europe foundries, on the other hand, recovered for the third time in a row in August, after a sharp drop and its lowest level in May.

While the BCI increased from -1.8 to -1.3 points in August, the Fisi fell by another 0.5 points to 99.3. These opposing developments suggest that the Covid-19 pandemic and the structural changes in the automotive industry will affect the European foundry industry in the longer term.

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 every month and 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. This indicator 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.