Skip to main content

The worst Indian fears of the global financial meltdown appear to be painfully coming true

The economic slowdown has begun to hurt companies across industries forcing many top rankers to cut production, opt for reduced working hours and rationalise their workforce.

Sample this:

All the sectors are feeling the pain

  • Truck makers slash working hours
  • Steel,Cement, Textiles trims output
  • Airlines cut number of flights
  • Shippers see drop in traffic

Demand is slowing as credit crunch, high rates weigh on customer spending

Auto & Steel Sector
On Friday, India’s leading truck maker, Tata Motors, confirmed the shutdown of its Pune unit for six days this month, which will follow a three-day closure of its Jamshedpur plant. Ashok Leyland, the second largest producer of trucks, slashed its weekly working days to three.On the same day, JSW Steel opted for a 20-per cent cut in output this month. Another steel maker Essar also confirmed reduction in capacity utlisation. Last week, Tata Steel’s UK subsidiary, Corus, effected a similar cut.

Textile and Cement
Grasim Industries, an Aditya Birla Group company, had cut production of Viscose Staple Fibre by about 30 per cent of its total capacity of 3.33 lakh tonnes/annum at Nagda in Madhya Pradesh and Kharach, Gujarat units.
Cement manufacturers have reduced capacity utilisation to about 85 per cent because of a sharp fall in demand from the realty sector, which consumes about 55 per cent of the total production of 200 million tonnes.

Petrochemicals
Petrochemicals major Reliance Industries, as per newspapers report is planning rationalisation of price structure to align with input cost and slowdown in demand. The company last month had offered a VRS for its employees in the Patalaganga plant.

Why is this happening?
Non-availability of finance and high interest rates had forced customers to postpone purchases.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Mountains of food stock goes waste : Another instance of government inefficiency!

Look at government inefficiency, food prices have galloped at an alarming rate over the last few months. Some blame it on the poor monsoons. Some blame it on hoarding by greedy middlemen. In my opinion, the government unknowingly itself is a massive hoarder. As per a report in a financial daily, the stock of rice and wheat in government granaries is way above the minimum requirement. Sadly, much of this excess stock is stored in the open. It either rots or feeds pests. In my view, this is a national shame. We cannot get the basics right in such a crucial area when food prices are spiraling out of control and millions of Indians still go hungry. Such stocks should be stored properly and released in small lots to stabilise prices.

Biyani looks at the bigger picture

It is important to look at the holistic picture and have an individual opinion rather than get swayed away by the public consensus. This is the view of the man who pioneered the retailing boom in India - Mr. Kishore Biyani, the founder of India’s largest retailing company - Pantaloon. In an article in the Wall street Journal, Mr. Biyani wrote, "Almost daily doses of bad news on television screens and newspapers have possibly done as much damage to the economy as the events on either side of the Atlantic." I completely agree with him. Mr. Biyani’s predicament is based on the fact that an overwhelming majority of Indian consumers are self-employed, who can neither get laid off nor can have pay cuts. Consider some statistics he has provided. The share of the national income represented by proprietor-run concerns and partnerships is 35%. The share of companies is around 15%, government around 25%, and agriculture around 25%. Combine agriculture and the self-employed in industry a...

Infosys kick started the March quarter and full year FY09 result season today on a mixed note

Infosys kick started the March quarter and full year FY09 result season today on a mixed note. Although its fourth quarter operating performance did not have much to be enthused about, the company managed to add 37 new clients and 1,772 employees (net) during this quarter. This goes to show the consistency in the company’s long term business prospects. While the full year profits grew by a healthy 29% YoY, the company announced an earnings guidance for FY10 that would be lower by 3% to 7% YoY as compared to FY09 EPS.