The manufacturing sector took a heavy hit in July, further prolonging the crisis it has been experiencing since the implementation of President Javier Milei’s austerity plan.
According to official data from statistics bureau INDEC, industrial activity fell 4.9% year-over-year in July. Cumulative decline in 2026 stands at 3%.
The most alarming figure, however, was the 5% monthly decline, which reversed the slight increases seen in the previous two months.
This is the sharpest monthly decline in a year and a half (in March 2025, there was a 5.8% drop) and the third-largest monthly decline since the libertarian administration took office (the worst was 6.5% in December 2023, the month Milei took office).
The fall means industrial activity fell back to levels last seen during the semester of 2024, when the brunt of Milei’s fiscal austerity policy was felt, and the pandemic.
