Argentina's industrial capacity utilization dropped to 57.7% in November 2025, the lowest since March, according to INDEC data. The textile sector plummeted to a historic 29.2%, with business owners warning of mass closures and job losses due to trade openness and lack of internal demand.
Argentina's industry is facing a deep crisis, with capacity utilization (UCI) falling to 57.7% in November 2025, a drop of nearly five points from 62.3% in November 2024. This is the lowest level since March 2025 and confirms a recessive plateau instead of the expected rebound. While oil refining reaches 86.5% driven by Vaca Muerta exports, labor-intensive sectors like metalworking (39.9%, excluding automotive) and automotive (46.3%) are sinking due to lower local demand and imported competition.
Economist Mariano Kestelboim described the situation as "a combo of economic policies that harm the industry greatly," citing compressed internal consumption, trade openness, exchange rate lag, and high credit costs. These are "the lowest records in national history" outside the pandemic, he said.
The textile sector is the hardest hit, operating at 29.2% capacity compared to 48.2% the previous year, leaving seven out of ten machines idle. Marco Meloni, a textile entrepreneur involved in spinning and fabric finishing, warned that the fundamental problem is "recreating internal demand," as wages do not cover basic expenses. The sector lost at least 18,000 formal jobs and up to 28,000 informal ones, with over 400 companies closed. "You start suspending people and then laying them off," Meloni recounted, comparing it to the early 2000s crisis with zero inflation, zero deficit, and 25% unemployment.
Business owners warn they are burning margins to survive, with clothing prices rising only 15% year-over-year against 31% inflation. Openness to Chinese imports, online sales without tariffs, and tax pressure worsen unfair competition. Meloni emphasized: "First-world countries are industrialized nations" and advocated exporting value-added products instead of raw materials.
