• LOW POINT: Mexico’s construction industry experienced in 2019 its worst quarter since 1995 recording a 6.5% participation in GDP during the second quarter of this year, according to data released by the national statistics agency (INEGI); this is lower than during the 2008 recession.
• WHAT´S BEHIND: According to market analysis firm Forecastim, despite similar falls in 2013 and 2017 the hit against Mexican construction sector this year was even bigger this year due to the reduction in public investment along with the slowdown in residential construction.
• SLOWDOWN: “The construction industry is in one of the economic moments of greatest contraction in the last 10 years, an economic cycle that began to slow down in mid-2018 and as of September 2019 continued to deteriorate”, said Forecastim.
• OUTLOOK: This month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reduced Mexico’s growth outlook for 2019 to 0.4%; the IMF recommended “the need to increase non-energy related public investment but only in the context of a sustainable fiscal position and a comprehensive infrastructure plan”.
