12-01-2012
Is the feast becoming a less enthusiastic ceremony?
Since September 2011, Brazilian equipment manufacturers as well as importers and representatives for mostly oriental companies are experiencing a constant decline in business activities.
In December many companies informed the outlook was not friendly and orders were slimming. All major projects envolving mechanical equipment have slowed or were postponed, including some giant fertilizer projects, steel and also mining.
As the US and Europe struggle to reduce unemployment and heat up the overall activity, Latin America is slowly turning into a mere raw materials and commodities supplier, mostly cheap, for Asia. And also importing less, mainly from China´s mechanical equipment companies. A bad and good sign.
So Mavi is expecting, again, an unfriendly 2012. As happened in 2009. The usual procedures are under way, like trimming expenses, reducing work time, lowering production costs to work with lower sale prices, longer vaccations and a stronger marketing effort.
The crisis come and go, apparently we have to weather another one
