Optimism growing in companies: expert

Optimism is growing among entrepreneurs: the PMI of the Polish processing sector amounted to 51.7 points, as Lewiatan expert Sonia Buchholtz wrote in Monday's comment.

According to IHS Markit, in December 2020, the PMI of the Polish processing sector was 51.7 points. In November, the index was 50.8 points.

According to the Lewiatan expert, in December growing demand was accompanied by significant limitations on the supply side.

"The demand for Polish goods in December increased, mainly from foreign entities, which translated into a greater number of orders. At the same time, however, we were not able to fulfill these orders, which translated into a decline in production,” Buchholtz wrote. 

She also noted that this demand was the fastest since June and that it is due to the shortage of workers and delays in the supply of raw materials. 

"In this case, there is no question of replacing the factors of production as they become available. The product backlog has been increasing from the quarter, and the stock of finished goods continues to shrink," we read.

According to Buchholtz, the shortages of employees combined with increases in employment are the result of a combination of epidemic difficulties (quarantine, isolation, sick leave, overdue leaves, care benefits) and growing competency deficits needed for positions in the industry.

She pointed out that after months of slimming inventories of raw materials, the growing number of orders translated into an increase in purchases, but with limited production and transport capacities, this means that orders cannot be processed, e.g. due to restrictions on exports from China.

(PAP)