It is much less available money to invest

This is a subject on which companies are rather discrete. "Today's investments are tomorrow's jobs," it said. It's not very rewarding, so pruning in this budget. Yet, this is what they are doing almost all time, France as in other industrialized countries. From month to month, the movement is more net. A very speaking indicator: in may, Caterpillar saw its sales of hydraulic excavators, compactors and other machines drop by 43 compared to a year ago while the pace of decline was only 34 in March. The situation "has continued to deteriorate in recent months and no rapid recovery or improvement is expected", as in ECHO, yesterday, said the leadership of Sulzer, which flows less pumps.

The latest forecasts of the Insee are eloquent. According to the Institute, the French business investment should decline by almost 9 this year. The never-seen since the beginning of this statistical series in 1950. The Insee expects that degradation increases over the year, without remission in sight for the time being. "Investment, is what will ultimately leave when the crisis ends," confirms Yvon Jacob, the Chairman of the Group of industrial federations, which anticipates no improvement before 2011 (read below).

And it is the investment in manufactured products which is most affected. Purchases of machine tools, trucks, forklifts, etc., should fall to less than 16 this year, announced the Insee. Here, too, a historical degradation.

The explanation It is clear. "Companies are facing a very depressed market, with few prospects for rapid improvement of the application, analysis Sylvain Broyer of Natixis. In addition, they occur with much higher credit constraints. They use their cash to finance the Working Capital Fund. It is much less available money to invest.

Two major consequences

In addition, real interest rates are high and low lending banks. To increase production capacity, there is no urgency. In France, plants do rotate currently an average of 71 per cent of their capacities against 85 a year ago, according to the statements of the industrial...

In this crisis coming long, business leaders are therefore more to reduce the wing in terms of investment. It is spectacular in affected sectors such as automotive. But even more preserved branches raise the foot. After flamboyant years, global investment in renewable energy should, for example, fail at least 26 in 2009, according to New Energy Finance.

The collapse of the investment is, indeed, not limited to the France or Europe. The phenomenon is even more marked in the United States. In the first quarter, spending of American companies were unscrewed of 37 over the previous three months. With loons 47 for industrial equipment and 78 for exploration and mining equipment...

This decline has two major consequences. First, it plunges the manufacturers of capital goods involved in a crisis like no other. Caterpillar to Sulzer, Manitowoc to Haulotte, these businesses suffer as ever, multiply the restructuring plans and call for help. Then, "the under-investment of today risk, tomorrow, to reduce the competitiveness of the France and the industrialized countries from emerging as areas China, which continue to invest", is concerned about Guillaume Thibault, consultant and author of "What industrial strategy for the globalization facing France" (Editions Technip).