FLASH NEWS
The growth of the automotive industry, a race with obstacles, due to course and lack of labor force
2023-10-28 08:54:43 / EKONOMI&SOCIALE
Automakers appear to have entered a more normal production cycle, partially solving the component shortage problem that became a concern earlier. Consequently, this has led to increased demand for products that are provided by their supporting industry, a small part of which is also found in our country.
These companies, which produce wires, cables, tires or simple parts for international companies, report positive progress this year, even though the rate of growth has fallen, being lower than that of previous years.
The official foreign trade figures for the 8th month show that the exports of the period January-August 2022 for the "machinery, equipment and spare parts" group, which includes the products of the factories in question, were about 26.5 billion lek, or about 241 million euros .
In relation to the same period of 2022, we are dealing with an increase of 5.6%.
The decrease in the growth rate becomes clear if we compare the 8th month of 2022 in relation to the same period of the previous year, when this increase was 37%, or the 8th month of 2021 in relation to the 8th month of 2020, with 37.1%.
The only decrease is observed in 2020 when the pandemic broke out and despite this, work continued, but the decrease compared to the 8th month of 2019 was 10.5%.
According to INSTAT figures, this group closed the year 2022 with a value of 360 million euros.
Demand from car manufacturers has increased
The year 2023 is predicted to close with a production balance increased in volume in relation to 2022. Mario Scarfalto, manager of SEWS CABIND Albania underlines that there is a kind of stabilization that is observed in the automobile manufacturers that supports this demand.
"Our customers have started to solve the problem of the lack of components and also their production has become more stable than it was during the post-pandemic period.
As a result of this, we can also stabilize and increase our production lines that have already been installed", he emphasizes.
The bottlenecks that have appeared in the automotive industry year after year, starting from the pandemic and then the increased risk perception from the Russia-Ukraine war, have not made the job easy for the supporting companies.
However, they managed to maintain the growth trend predicted earlier.
"The year 2023 has been positive regarding the demand for our products. Although the geopolitical situation has not been positive and consequently the perception of risk in business has been high, this has not been reflected in demand.
On the contrary, the demand has been continuously even higher than the budgeted forecasts. This is probably also influenced by the slowdown in production in the past years", - assesses Ertjan Çabiri, Managing Director of Delmon Group Albania.
Punonjësit, qarkullimi i lartë ul produktivitetin, mund të frenojë zgjerimet
Numri i kompanive të industrisë automotive në vendin tonë është rritur vit pas viti, ku pas Forschner dhe PSZ Albania erdhën me radhë Yura Corporation, e vendosur në Fier, Delmon në Elbasan, SEWS CABIND në Tiranë, si dhe Everest Automotive, e cila në faqen e saj njofton se prodhon pjesë automobilistike.
“Cilësia e parë e aluminit nga industria jonë përdoret për të krijuar pjesë të ndryshme të automobilave, si dyert e makinave, kabinat dhe deri në krijimin e pjesëve të anijeve, përfshirë dritaret dhe më tepër”, – thuhet në faqen e kompanisë.
Një industri e kësaj natyre kërkon një numër të lartë punonjësish, teksa shumica janë zgjeruar shpejt, duke stabilizuar disa fabrika në një hark të shkurtër kohor.
Ky është rasti i SEWS CABIND Albania që në tre vite ka hapur tre fabrika dhe duket se forca punëtore e nevojshme për vijimin e këtij zgjerimi është pikëpyetja më e madhe që ka si çdo industri tjetër në vend.
“Zgjerimi vazhdoi dhe falë përpjekjeve vërtet të shumta të ekipit tonë, arritëm të hapim fabrikën tonë të tretë, e cila do të lejojë SEWS CABIND Albania të zgjerojë gjurmën në një sipërfaqe totale prodhimi të konsiderueshme.
Fabrika e tretë është një mundësi për të prezantuar linja të reja prodhimi dhe për të rritur numrin e punonjësve (nëse arrijmë t’i gjejmë).
Objektivi i numrit të punonjësve që synojmë të arrijmë në dy vjet është rreth 2300 persona”, – pohon z. Scarfalloto.
Mungesa e një numri stabël punonjësish, ku largimet dhe punësimet mbeten të larta, ka rritur kostot e kompanive për trajnimin e burimeve njerëzore, duke ndikuar edhe te produktiviteti.
“Vështirësia në garantimin e fuqisë punëtore është bërë një problem konstant. Përveç vështirësisë që krijon në planifikimin e prodhimit rreziku i mosgjetjes së punonjësve, është e rëndësishme të nënvizohet një efekt tjetër negativ i krijuar, që është rënia e produktivitetit.
Turnover-i i lartë i punonjësve (numri i punonjësve që janë larguar në raport me numrin e punonjësve në fillim të vitit plus atij në fund të vitit), të karakterizuar nga rritja e emigrimit dhe vështirësia në zëvendësimin e tyre ka shkaktuar edhe uljen e detyruar të kritereve në përzgjedhje dhe rrjedhimisht, rënien e produktivitetit” vlerëson z. Çabiri.
Euro përkeqëson situatën e eksportuesve, përfshirë industrinë automotive
Prodhuesit e telave, kabllove, gominave apo çdo pjese tjetër që është e destinuar për eksport hasën këtë vit një tjetër problem siç ishte zhvlerësimi i dukshëm i Euros.
Grupet që eksportojnë, nga fasonët tek industria automotive apo dhe fusha të tjera, nënvizojnë se humbjet nga kjo situatë janë të mëdha.
Nëse situata do të kthehet edhe një herë te vera e 2023, kur konvertimi i 1 euro iu afrua 100 lekëve, situata pritet të jetë edhe më e vështirë.
“Për eksportuesit, forcimi i Lekut ka një efekt negativ drejtpërdrejt në kosto, duke ulur aftësinë konkurruese në krahasim me kompanitë që operojnë jashtë.
It is clear that our income, which is in Euros, is worth less and less in Lek, reducing the EBITDA margin and leaving less and less space for capital investments.
This also affects competitiveness in the long term, which depends a lot on the ability to invest in new technologies" underlines Mr. Chabir.
Even for Mr. Scarfalto, the impact has been great in terms of finances every month, due to the change in the exchange rate but also its lack of stability.
"If we go back to the lowest level we touched this summer, we will suffer again", he estimates.
Electric cars, increasing demand will expand the product portfolio
The increase in costs in almost every aspect, from raw materials to energy, brought about an increase in the costs of final products, which started in the post-pandemic and still continues.
The automotive sector did not escape this chain effect, raising prices significantly, but despite this, demand has continued to grow.
The market remains dynamic and with rapid changes, which are being embraced by the automobile manufacturers and which will therefore have to be followed by their supporting factories that supply them with parts.
The expectation is that electric cars will be one of the segments that will show the most stable performance.
“The automotive world is changing rapidly; EV (electric vehicle) development, AI (Artificial Intelligence) gaining momentum, ESG focus, all are increasingly present in the business of automobile manufacturers.
Understandably, they expect all suppliers to follow suit. Sometimes this requires a drastic change in vision, from reducing costs and profit as a priority, to a vision of keeping costs stable and investing in resources to create a sustainable environment, e.g. installing solar panels to generate energy", says Mr. Scarfalto.
The increase in the weight of electric cars in the total number of vehicles seems to have effects in Albania as well, where a small fraction of the products are produced by the factories located here.
"Another important trend is the transition to the use of electric cars. The demand and production for the latter is increasing over time and for companies like Delmon Group, this translates into a change in the product portfolio.
Just a few days ago, we were introduced to a new project in the Albanian factory, which will cover the production of a part for two new models of electric cars of a very well-known German brand for 5 years.
This project is expected to start in 2025 and will be equal in volume to more than 50% of the current production.
Meanwhile, products for internal combustion cars will certainly decline. In conclusion, the planning of changing the portfolio has started with rapid steps", - affirms Mr. Çabiri./ Monitor.al
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