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Sectors such as metallurgy or pharmacy are recovering from the crisis and present unprecedented growth opportunities before the covid
The hit of the pandemic in the economy has been completely asymmetrical. It has harmed sectors such as tourism, hospitality and physical commerce, while activity and business in other segments such as telecommunications, logistics, food or health has skyrocketed.
The Director of Economy of the CEOE, Gregorio Izquierdo, highlights that, indeed, “as shown, for example, the levels of turnover of companies, the situation is very uneven.” «In sectors such as metallurgy, the turnover is 37% more than what was done before the pandemic or in the pharmacy sector, around 25% more; that is to say, it is not that they have recovered, it is that they are far above it ». For LeftThis momentum is due to the fact that the breakdown in global supplies has meant that those sectors that have been able to meet demand have gained market share, both national and European.
According to the data provided by the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, the current situation is accelerating the jobs of technical profiles in health, science and information technology. The last quarter closed with 19.1% more workers in the ICT sector compared to the same quarter of 2019, representing almost 4% of the total employed according to the Labor Force Survey (EPA).
Alejandra Marly, an economic analysis technique from the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, explains that demand is multiplying in technology segments. “Our economic structure was focused on the tourism sector, which has been greatly affected during the pandemic, and so far little has been invested in technology, which is where the economy is growing at the moment. The covid has given the alert and has indicated to us where there is development, which are the sectors of the future, “he argues.
In this way, Marly stresses that it is necessary to bet decisively on R + D + i, and aims as economic tissues to promote digitization, biomedicine, the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, the transition from the automotive sector to the electric vehicle, the energy transition of decarbonization, as well as the food sector. A new economy that, in his opinion, goes through the transformation of the productive system. To maintain and promote the expansive economic cycle experienced in these areas, the economic analysis technique understands that public-private collaboration is essential and involving both SMEs and large companies “so as not to leave anyone behind.”
Precisely, the Ministry of Economy indicates that those sectors that drive growth are those that had already begun a transformation in their production model, a structural change and not so much a cyclical response to recovery, and that, in addition, they present more flexible business organizations . Data from the ministry show that the number of Social Security affiliates in the Information and Communication sector -which stand out for their good behavior- has grown by 10% in November 2021, 57,244 more workers compared to the same period of the year. 2019.
Nonetheless, Gregorio Izquierdo He insists on remembering that the covid has left part of the productive tissue with scars, with structural and financial weaknesses, and that it would be wrong to think that the crisis has been overcome. “There are sectors that have not yet recovered and that also carry the losses suffered during confinement. We cannot forget them.
LOGISTICS: The highest sales figure “never seen before”
The logistics sector has been one of the sectors that has best weathered the crisis. Although the confinement was a logical setback for economic activity and also for the sector, the acceleration of electronic commerce has resulted in a reactivation of transport. The sector is estimated to account for around 6% of GDP. Difficulties in supplying products from Asia in 2021 have increased freight costs, which were multiplied by up to seven, so the demand for nearby storage infrastructure has increased. The demand for warehouses close to population centers has also increased.
During the current Christmas season, the logistics sector expects shipments to grow by 7% compared to 2020. The president of the Spanish logistics association, Francisco Aranda, ensures that this year “it is expected to reach the highest number of online sales ever seen” at this time. It is estimated that around 106 million shipments will be managed.
A sample of the health of the sector is the employment data. The volume of employees around logistics has grown, according to UNO, 14% in one year to more than 1.15 million workers. According to Infojobs, the logistics sector is the highest demand for workers in recent months tripling the 2019 data. While driver salaries remain stagnant between 16,000 and 21,000 euros per year, the Adecco consultancy detects an increase in salaries for managers and intermediate positions. Thus, logistics and purchasing managers point to salaries of up to 85,000 fixed euros. Operations managers move between 60,000 and 65,000 euros, while warehouse managers charge between 48,500 and 39,000 euros.
Technology has become a staple of development in the sector. Demand forecasting and data analytics specialists are in demand. According William Barneoud, vice president of operations of the logistics firm GXO, “the logistics sector is immersed in a great revolution, with important changes such as the advancement of technology, new sales channels, the constant growth of electronic commerce … Automation and robotization will be determining factors to face the new challenges of supply chains “.
E-commerce giants such as Amazon and Aliexpress are committed to the opening of automated warehouses and all companies in general seek to ensure through logistics solutions that they will be able to adapt to peak demand in times of strong recovery in consumption.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS: An elite for the golden age
Telecommunications are experiencing a great moment of expansion, although at different speeds. Miguel Ramirez, vice-president of the Catalan Association of Telecommunications Engineers, explains that computer services, the development of new applications, consulting, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity are activities of great present and future growth.
However, on the other hand there is the telephony segment, which has had a stagnant business volume for years. “There is the feeling that as we are more at home we use telecommunications much more. And it is true, but with a flat rate, which generates little additional business,” he clarifies.
However, in the ICT sector, the turnover increased 4.7% to 120,566 million euros, according to the latest data available from the Ministry of Economy. Six years ago, the sector had a turnover of 90,447 million. Investment in technology and communication reached 18,429 million euros, 7.2% more than the previous year. And there are 727,000 specialists in all technology segments, which is equivalent to 3.8% of total employment in Spain.
The most recent indicators were made public by the barometer of the sector in Catalonia, on December 2, and indicate that companies will close again in 2021 with a business volume higher than in previous years, and will go from 20,387 million euros to 23,000 million. The number of companies in Catalonia grew from 16,339 to more than 17,000 and the number of workers, from 114,300 to 129,000. In fact, according to the study, “it was one of the few sectors that continued to generate jobs in the pandemic.”
The expectations for the future are, for all analysts, unbeatable and, in this sense, Ramírez warns: workers are lacking for such demand. “It is a problem throughout Europe. Well-trained professionals on complex issues are in short supply. In this context, he reflects, perhaps we should consider that university studies as they are planned do not cover the needs of the sector “.
Faced with the golden age that is on the horizon, and in order not to rest on his laurels, Ramírez points out that a training system should be redesigned that allows “the creation of many programmers but also an elite specialized in emerging market niches.”
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PHARMACY: Export record
The pharmaceutical industry has been confirmed as one of the main drivers of the economy. Exports of the sector stood at 12,777 million of euros in 2020, a figure that represents an increase of 5.6% compared to the previous year, and the value of its production in 14,900 million euros, according to the data provided by Farmaindustria.
The turnover of pharmaceutical companies accounts for 2.2% of the total Spanish industry, and it ranks, along with aerospace, at the forefront in R&D intensity. The investment in this section adds up to 18.5% of the total allocated by the industry in Spain, only behind the 23.1% that brings together investment in motor vehicle research.
In 2020, 1,019 new studies were approved, of which 34% correspond to drugs to treat different types of cancer, followed by trials of treatments against covid. The sector employs 42,600 people directly and to 170,000 indirectly.
FOOD: Continuous growth and without interruption of activity
You can abstinence from many things, but not from food and drink. So the food sector is one of the activities that has not stopped in these times of pandemic, not even when almost everything was confined. It came prepared. Based on a huge diversity of fresh and processed products, this industry came from a stage of continuous growth supported by its capacity for innovation and its openness to the outside.
To show a button, as the Spanish Federation of Food and Beverage Industries (FIAB) recalls: “Spain has positioned itself as the second country in the world with the least stock-outs, after Canada “. Last year the sector touched 34,000 million euros in exports, with an increase of 4.4%, and the trade balance amounted to 12,608 million after growing 28%.
But not everything has been a bed of roses. FIAB highlights that this activity, which remains the first industry in the country, is also suffering from covid. And it is that its production of 129,854 million euros contracted by 5.2%, given that its export capacity and the increase that has occurred in household demand “have not been able to cushion the losses” due to the closure and restrictions on hospitality and tourism, which account for around 30% of the sector’s turnover. A situation that has put an end to “a growth trend that had been accumulating for six years.”
Workers and companies have suffered it, although in both cases, the sector “has held up” better than the rest of the manufacturing industry. Employment -almost half a million workers- remains 7.9% below precovid levels and 1,066 businesses have closed, bringing the number of companies to 30,573 after falling 4.2%. At the expense of what happens in this new wave of coronavirus, food is relieved by the return to full activity of the horeca channel, and, although it is not immune to the turbulence of this end of the year, mainly the rise in raw materials, it trusts in your strengths to maintain your successful course.
Reference-www.elperiodico.com