Manufacturing shows marginal improvement, says CII-ASCON survey

The manufacturing sector is showing some buoyancy, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry-ASCON Survey for the July-September quarter.

The survey, which tracks the growth of the industrial sector on a quarterly basis, shows marginal improvement in the number of sectors that have reported growth above 10 per cent from the year-ago quarter.

Of the 59 sectors surveyed, the percentage of sectors reporting more than 10 per cent growth has climbed to 30.4 per cent in the three months through September 2014 from 26.08 per cent a year earlier.

Correspondingly, the percentage of sectors registering less than 10 per cent growth has slipped to 69.48 per cent in the September quarter of 2014 from 73.90 per cent a year earlier.

The lobby group said that high growth has been noticed in sectors such as white goods, synthetic fibre, consumer non-durables such as imported oils, groundnut oil, rapeseed, along with machine tools and rubber machinery.

In white goods, refrigerators, air conditioners, and small appliances have registered 12 to 15 per cent growth rates. The LCD/LED segment grew above 20 per cent, probably due to holiday season sales.

"The rural purchase trends and sales in tier-four and tier-five cities have contributed significantly to this growth," a statement from CII said. Power cables and circuit breakers have grown between 10 and 20 per cent.

The automobile industry continues to be on the losing side - the sector has witnessed low to negative growth in passenger cars, commercial vehicles, utility vehicle, and tyres, among others. Two wheelers and three wheelers, nevertheless, grew.

It is not clear how sustainable growth in sectors such as white goods is, post the holiday season. Another survey by industry body Ficci suggested moderation in manufacturing growth in the October-December quarter as compared to the previous three-month period.

The survey, which gauges the expectations of manufacturers in 13 sectors, found that the proportion of respondents expecting higher production in the October-to-December quarter has fallen to 52 per cent from 62 per cent in the previous three months.