- April 19, 2021
- Posted by: medium
- Category: National
In total, the sector suffered a fall from 36% to 40%, but there were parts of its productive chain that lost more than others.
The construction sector was one of the most beaten by the pandemic in 2020, but it was also the fastest signs of recovery after the months of confinement.
It was completely paralyzed from mid -March to the end of May.Joan Proaño, general manager of the promoter Proaño & Proaño, said the general impact was a fall in36%, which is equivalent to$ 1,307 millionLess in billing that was perceived in 2020 in relation to 2019.
However, to calculate this impact, it must be taken into account that the construction is one of the sectors that integrates the most related activities to its productive chain, with its own markets, users and dynamics.
Proaño, who is also a spokesman for Positive builders, an organization that adds more than 600 professionals from all that productive chain, explained that the sector is composed of the real estate part of the 35% al 40%, and for the public works that correspond to the 60% remaining.
For example, in the real estate sector, the reserves of housing units were reduced by the 21,6% In 2020, and the mortgage loans throughout the bank led to the construction sector fell into a 33%, says Proaño.
Stefano Ferretti, Vice President of Operations of the Constructora Environment, also highlighted the wide productive chain of the sector, while assuring that the construction of public works promoted by the central government such as bridges, roads, hydroelectric plants, aqueducts, among others, was the segment most beaten by the pandemic.
"The main impact was the delay and paralysis within the entire production chain, which had direct impact on the initial planning for the execution of the projects. It is necessary to mention that 95% of the materials used in the housing construction industry are of national origin," said the businessman.
The construction of housing plans, Ferretti explained, includes large items such as urbanism, landscaping and the construction of housing as such, where there is an important participation of industries and services related to the final product.
In that context, the entrepreneur details how much each industry or service represents in the production process of housing construction.
The cement industry, of steel and profiles represents 25%, electrical materials, cables and posts (15%); Taps, sinks, toilets and toilets (12%); paint (12%); ceramics and related (8%); the covered and lying industry (7%); wood and doors (6%); aluminum and glass (5%); services and machinery (5%); the processed food and agriculture industry (2%); and other related industries represent 3%.
For its part, Henry Yandún, who handles companies related to the steel industry and is also part of positive builders, confirmed that there was a large reduction in sales of new projects. However, after quarantine he said surprised that there was an "unusual boom" for the sale of construction materials focused on housing remodeling.
"People began to better value our home because we spend all day in it, and we discovered that we must paint, cover a dropper or we had to adapt the house to be a classroom or an office," said Yandún, and said that after confinement sales of products related to remodeling increased the20%in relation to similar months.
With respect to the cement industry, the impact was of the 16%Fedexpor will deliver to the new Government a roadmap for a National Export Plan, which fell 5% in the first two months of the year David Montenegro, commercial director of UNACEM Ecuador, based on figures February 15, 2022
However, he said that the conclusion of works, especially private, allowed the cement industry to mitigate, to some extent, the negative effects of the health crisis that forced the cessation of productive activities for 47 days.
As for the company in particular, Montenegro highlighted some strategies that helped reactivation such as strengthening its distribution network, through the return plan to operations and payment chain.
“This, added to the successful identification of the segments that would have the fastest recovery in the market and leverage the reactivation, allowed us better performance in the second semester of 2020. They totaled$ 119 millionIn sales, a-14,5%In relation to the previous year, ”he revealed.
Meanwhile, wood is another industry directly related to construction and real estate sector at different stages: construction and then to furnish the spaces (departments, houses, offices, etc.), he explainedChristian Riofrío, executive director of the Ecuadorian Association of Wood Industries (AIMA), and acknowledged that one of the important downs that the forest industry had in 2020 was linked to the contraction of the construction sector.
This is contrary to what happened with exports, one of the struts that maintained this industry during the pandemic.
"Unfortunately, the construction sector, which had been beaten for several years, has marked a different reality for companies that are more closely linked to that sector of the economy, but spaces were also opened with remodeling and arrangements in homes, something that had not been exploited in their potential," he said.
He also highlighted an important growth in the construction of wood structures, the most common being pergolas, but also structures of houses and commercial buildings. "However, the crisis has affected all the aforementioned segments," he said.
In 2020 the total billing of the wood sector was$ 1,551 million,$ 301 millionless than in the already contracted 2019, which represents a fall of the16,3%. “The sector billed $ 300 million less, but exports grew by about $ 350 million. It can be interpreted that the local market fell about $ 650 million compared to 2019, ”analyzed the executive director of Aima.
On the other hand, the painting industry also suffered the impact. According to David Betancourt, commercial manager of Pintulac, that industry at the national level represents around $ 200 million. Of that, approximately $ 70 million are destined for the new constructions.
The businessman said that under construction, the consumption of 2020 dropped around 40%, although he pointed out that little by little the situation has been improving as the builders have been able to reactivate their projects.