Today, April 12, 2021, El Financiero published that:
The construction sector was the main driver of industrial activity growth in Mexico during the second month of this year, driven by the good performance in building.
The construction industry grew 2.5 percent at a monthly rate in the second month of the year, and this was its highest rise since October 2020, based on INEGI data. It was also its best figure for February since 2015.
However, in its annual comparison, construction still lags behind, registering a 5.3 percent decline, and has been in negative territory for 25 months.
Advances in construction and mining offset declines in manufacturing and electricity, gas and water services, and allowed for a 0.4 percent monthly advance in industrial activity.
Construction was driven by a 3.6 percent rise in the building segment, while civil engineering works fell 0.5 percent and specialized works for construction fell 0.4 percent.
The Monthly Industrial Activity Indicator (IMAI) advanced 0.4 percent at a monthly rate during February, and this was its largest advance in three months.
Mining grew 2.3 percent and the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, water and gas reported a drop of 3.8 percent, while manufacturing industry fell 2.1 percent, making it the second month in a row of declines.
“We had expected the industrial sector to be a small drag on the economy during the first quarter as a whole, but that now seems unlikely,” Nikhil Sanghani, Latin America economist at Capital Economicos, said in a report.
