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Date : Apr 08, 2022
Industrial Outlook Survey of the Manufacturing Sector for Q4:2021-22

Today, the Reserve Bank released the results of the 97th round of the Industrial Outlook Survey (IOS). The survey encapsulates qualitative assessment of the business climate by Indian manufacturing companies for Q4:2021-22 and their expectations for Q1:2022-231. In all, 1,283 companies responded in this round of the survey conducted during January-March 2022. Owing to uncertainty driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, an additional block was included in this round of the survey for assessing the outlook on key parameters for two quarters ahead as well as three quarters ahead.

Highlights:

A. Assessment for Q4: 2021-22

  • Manufacturing enterprises assessed improvement in demand condition in terms of production, order books and employment situation in Q4:2021-22, albeit at a slower pace when compared to the previous survey round (Table A).

  • Sentiments on capacity utilisation and availability of finance improved further in Q4:2021-22.

  • Manufacturers perceived continued price pressures with some softening in the pace of increase in input cost and selling prices.

  • Sentiments on profit margin turned negative due to lower optimism on demand conditions vis-à-vis the preceding quarter.

  • Business sentiments remained fairly positive though it waned marginally, as reflected in the business assessment index (BAI)2, which stood at 111.5 in Q4:2021-22 as compared with 115.0 in the previous quarter (Chart 1).

B. Expectations for Q1: 2022-23

  • Respondents expect expansion in the demand parameters such as production volumes, new orders and job landscape in Q1:2022-23.

  • Capacity utilisation and overall financial situation are expected to improve further in Q1:2022-23.

  • Pressure from purchase of raw materials are likely to intensify in Q1:2022-23; the respondents expressed higher optimism for growth in selling prices indicating more pricing power combined with input cost pressures vis-à-vis the previous survey round.

  • Overall business expectations index (BEI) remained high though it moderated to 134.7 in Q1:2022-23 from 137.8 in the previous quarter (Chart 1).

Chart 1

C. Expectations for Q2:2022-23 and Q3:2022-23

  • Manufacturers perceive sequential improvements in demand conditions, capacity utilisation and overall business situation till Q3:2022-23 (Table B).

  • Respondents expect input cost pressures to continue and selling price to remain high in the ensuing quarters.

Table A: Summary of Net responses3 on Survey Parameters
(per cent)
Parameters Assessment period Expectation period
Q3:2021-22 Q4:2021-22 Q4:2021-22 Q1:2022-23
Production 30.9 23.8 61.2 65.6
Order Books 29.5 21.3 61.5 66.1
Pending Orders 3.6 3.9 -0.5 1.8
Capacity Utilisation 22.2 17.2 52.6 59.0
Inventory of Raw Materials -11.4 -7.8 -29.0 -38.8
Inventory of Finished Goods -9.8 -6.5 -27.2 -39.5
Exports 20.0 12.7 54.7 58.0
Imports 19.9 11.3 51.8 56.4
Employment 19.8 11.4 47.2 50.2
Financial Situation (Overall) 28.3 20.7 59.3 65.4
Availability of Finance (from internal accruals) 24.8 18.1 52.9 59.9
Availability of Finance (from banks & other sources) 22.4 16.1 49.8 57.8
Availability of Finance (from overseas, if applicable) 19.0 9.1 50.9 59.2
Cost of Finance -19.4 -12.6 -48.6 -54.9
Cost of Raw Material -58.8 -49.5 -73.6 -77.0
Salary/ Other Remuneration -26.9 -18.2 -49.9 -65.6
Selling Price 28.2 20.3 50.3 55.7
Profit Margin 3.8 -1.2 39.8 43.2
Overall Business Situation 32.5 24.1 63.4 68.0
Note: Please see the excel file for time series data.

Table B: Business Expectations of Select Parameters for extended period – Net response
(per cent)
Parameters Round 96 Round 97
Q4:2021-22 Q1:2022-23 Q2:2022-23 Q3:2022-23
Overall Business Situation 63.4 68.0 70.5 72.0
Production 61.2 65.6 70.4 71.7
Order Books 61.5 66.1 69.3 69.6
Capacity Utilisation 52.6 59.0 67.1 68.5
Employment 47.2 50.2 60.0 55.4
Cost of Raw Materials -73.6 -77.0 -75.5 -73.9
Selling Prices 50.3 55.7 63.4 55.6

Table 1: Assessment and Expectations for Production
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
Increase Decrease No change Net response Increase Decrease No change Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 48.9 12.6 38.5 36.3 43.7 12.2 44.0 31.5
Q1:2021-22 1,281 16.5 42.3 41.2 -25.9 53.3 9.7 37.0 43.7
Q2:2021-22 1,414 44.5 10.7 44.8 33.8 58.8 6.8 34.3 52.0
Q3:2021-22 1,082 42.5 11.6 45.9 30.9 75.3 3.8 20.9 71.5
Q4:2021-22 1,283 38.0 14.2 47.8 23.8 66.5 5.3 28.3 61.2
Q1:2022-23           70.4 4.9 24.7 65.6
‘Increase’ in production is optimistic.
Note: The sum of components may not add up to total due to rounding off (This is applicable for all tables).

Table 2: Assessment and Expectations for Order Books
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
Increase Decrease No change Net response Increase Decrease No change Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 46.4 13.3 40.3 33.1 41.1 13.7 45.2 27.3
Q1:2021-22 1,281 20.0 36.5 43.5 -16.4 51.0 7.8 41.1 43.2
Q2:2021-22 1,414 44.9 10.1 45.0 34.7 56.9 6.5 36.7 50.4
Q3:2021-22 1,082 39.0 9.5 51.5 29.5 73.9 3.6 22.4 70.3
Q4:2021-22 1,283 34.7 13.4 51.9 21.3 66.2 4.7 29.1 61.5
Q1:2022-23           70.4 4.2 25.4 66.1
‘Increase’ in order books is optimistic.

Table 3: Assessment and Expectations for Pending Orders
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
Above Normal Below Normal Normal Net response Above Normal Below Normal Normal Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 13.2 10.2 76.6 -3.0 5.6 14.8 79.7 9.2
Q1:2021-22 1,281 7.4 17.5 75.1 10.0 11.6 9.2 79.3 -2.4
Q2:2021-22 1,414 9.6 8.1 82.3 -1.6 10.8 7.2 82.0 -3.7
Q3:2021-22 1,082 7.2 10.9 81.9 3.6 8.8 4.8 86.4 -4.1
Q4:2021-22 1,283 9.8 13.7 76.5 3.9 8.5 7.9 83.6 -0.5
Q1:2022-23           8.8 10.6 80.6 1.8
Pending orders ‘Below Normal’ is optimistic.

Table 4: Assessment and Expectations for Capacity Utilisation (Main Product)
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
Increase Decrease No change Net response Increase Decrease No change Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 40.6 11.5 47.9 29.1 34.7 10.6 54.7 24.1
Q1:2021-22 1,281 13.4 39.5 47.1 -26.1 45.2 7.3 47.5 38.0
Q2:2021-22 1,414 39.2 10.4 50.4 28.8 51.6 6.2 42.2 45.4
Q3:2021-22 1,082 31.2 9.0 59.8 22.2 68.3 3.1 28.5 65.2
Q4:2021-22 1,283 30.2 13.0 56.9 17.2 57.0 4.5 38.5 52.6
Q1:2022-23           63.5 4.5 32.0 59.0
‘Increase’ in capacity utilisation is optimistic.

Table 5: Assessment and Expectations for Level of CU (compared to the average in last 4 quarters)
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
Above Normal Below Normal Normal Net response Above Normal Below Normal Normal Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 21.3 12.2 66.5 9.1 11.7 15.3 73.0 -3.6
Q1:2021-22 1,281 5.2 18.4 76.3 -13.2 25.3 8.4 66.2 16.9
Q2:2021-22 1,414 15.4 7.7 76.9 7.8 15.6 7.9 76.5 7.7
Q3:2021-22 1,082 12.6 8.4 78.9 4.2 30.4 3.7 65.9 26.7
Q4:2021-22 1,283 12.6 10.8 76.6 1.9 30.1 5.8 64.2 24.3
Q1:2022-23           39.3 5.4 55.4 33.9
‘Above Normal’ in Level of capacity utilisation is optimistic.

Table 6: Assessment and Expectations for Assessment of Production Capacity (with regard to expected demand in next 6 months)
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
More than adequate Less than adequate Adequate Net response More than adequate Less than adequate Adequate Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 15.5 10.0 74.5 5.5 14.2 9.3 76.5 5.0
Q1:2021-22 1,281 10.8 13.0 76.2 -2.2 20.2 7.3 72.5 12.9
Q2:2021-22 1,414 17.3 7.6 75.1 9.7 28.4 5.8 65.8 22.6
Q3:2021-22 1,082 13.2 6.1 80.6 7.1 31.0 4.0 65.1 27.0
Q4:2021-22 1,283 14.1 7.1 78.8 7.1 30.7 4.0 65.3 26.7
Q1:2022-23           42.7 3.9 53.5 38.8
‘More than adequate’ in Assessment of Production Capacity is optimistic.

Table 7: Assessment and Expectations for Exports
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
Increase Decrease No change Net response Increase Decrease No change Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 31.6 16.0 52.4 15.5 25.1 12.1 62.7 13.0
Q1:2021-22 1,281 18.3 26.1 55.6 -7.8 38.7 9.0 52.3 29.6
Q2:2021-22 1,414 39.2 7.7 53.0 31.5 49.8 6.2 44.0 43.6
Q3:2021-22 1,082 29.8 9.7 60.5 20.0 67.3 3.1 29.6 64.3
Q4:2021-22 1,283 25.3 12.6 62.1 12.7 59.2 4.5 36.4 54.7
Q1:2022-23           62.4 4.4 33.2 58.0
‘Increase’ in exports is optimistic.

Table 8: Assessment and Expectations for Imports
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
Increase Decrease No change Net response Increase Decrease No change Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 25.8 9.3 64.9 16.4 17.7 9.1 73.2 8.5
Q1:2021-22 1,281 18.9 17.1 64.0 1.7 32.6 6.6 60.8 26.1
Q2:2021-22 1,414 36.0 5.8 58.2 30.2 47.3 4.5 48.3 42.8
Q3:2021-22 1,082 26.8 6.9 66.3 19.9 63.4 2.9 33.7 60.4
Q4:2021-22 1,283 22.9 11.6 65.4 11.3 55.6 3.8 40.6 51.8
Q1:2022-23           59.7 3.4 36.9 56.4
‘Increase’ in imports is optimistic.

Table 9: Assessment and Expectations for level of Raw Materials Inventory
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
Above average Below average Average Net response Above average Below average Average Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 17.5 6.5 76.0 -11.1 12.0 5.3 82.8 -6.7
Q1:2021-22 1,281 11.5 11.2 77.3 -0.3 17.2 5.4 77.4 -11.8
Q2:2021-22 1,414 20.2 5.5 74.4 -14.7 23.7 6.2 70.0 -17.5
Q3:2021-22 1,082 16.5 5.1 78.4 -11.4 33.7 4.4 61.9 -29.4
Q4:2021-22 1,283 14.7 6.9 78.4 -7.8 32.7 3.7 63.5 -29.0
Q1:2022-23           42.4 3.6 54.0 -38.8
‘Below average’ Inventory of raw materials is optimistic.

Table 10: Assessment and Expectations for level of Finished Goods Inventory
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
Above average Below average Average Net response Above average Below average Average Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 15.2 7.5 77.3 -7.6 11.5 5.1 83.4 -6.3
Q1:2021-22 1,281 14.4 10.2 75.4 -4.2 16.4 5.5 78.1 -10.9
Q2:2021-22 1,414 20.0 5.2 74.8 -14.9 25.0 5.6 69.4 -19.4
Q3:2021-22 1,082 15.3 5.5 79.2 -9.8 34.4 3.8 61.8 -30.7
Q4:2021-22 1,283 13.7 7.2 79.0 -6.5 31.1 3.9 64.9 -27.2
Q1:2022-23           42.4 3.0 54.6 -39.5
‘Below average’ Inventory of finished goods is optimistic.

Table 11: Assessment and Expectations for Employment
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
Increase Decrease No change Net response Increase Decrease No change Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 19.4 8.5 72.1 10.9 14.6 7.3 78.1 7.2
Q1:2021-22 1,281 9.1 12.7 78.2 -3.5 23.5 5.5 71.0 17.9
Q2:2021-22 1,414 29.5 4.6 65.9 24.9 28.6 2.5 69.0 26.1
Q3:2021-22 1,082 25.3 5.4 69.3 19.8 52.2 1.3 46.5 50.9
Q4:2021-22 1,283 20.3 8.9 70.8 11.4 49.2 2.0 48.8 47.2
Q1:2022-23           52.7 2.5 44.7 50.2
‘Increase’ in employment is optimistic.

Table 12: Assessment and Expectations for Overall Financial Situation
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
Better Worsen No change Net response Better Worsen No change Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 43.0 13.6 43.4 29.4 39.2 6.2 54.6 33.0
Q1:2021-22 1,281 17.8 30.6 51.6 -12.7 53.4 6.1 40.5 47.3
Q2:2021-22 1,414 41.7 8.9 49.4 32.8 54.0 5.8 40.2 48.2
Q3:2021-22 1,082 38.1 9.8 52.0 28.3 71.5 2.9 25.7 68.6
Q4:2021-22 1,283 33.9 13.2 53.0 20.7 64.0 4.7 31.3 59.3
Q1:2022-23           69.3 3.9 26.7 65.4
‘Better’ overall financial situation is optimistic.

Table 13: Assessment and Expectations for Working Capital Finance Requirement
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
Increase Decrease No change Net response Increase Decrease No change Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 30.8 7.7 61.4 23.1 28.5 3.7 67.8 24.8
Q1:2021-22 1,281 24.4 14.0 61.7 10.4 37.6 5.2 57.3 32.4
Q2:2021-22 1,414 39.6 4.7 55.7 34.9 44.7 3.0 52.2 41.7
Q3:2021-22 1,082 31.6 4.5 63.9 27.1 63.3 2.2 34.4 61.1
Q4:2021-22 1,283 31.4 8.1 60.5 23.3 54.7 2.9 42.4 51.7
Q1:2022-23           62.8 1.4 35.7 61.4
‘Increase’ in working capital finance is optimistic.

Table 14: Assessment and Expectations for Availability of Finance (from Internal Accruals)
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
Improve Worsen No change Net response Improve Worsen No change Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 33.3 9.6 57.1 23.7 28.3 5.6 66.1 22.8
Q1:2021-22 1,281 13.3 17.6 69.1 -4.3 39.7 5.1 55.2 34.7
Q2:2021-22 1,414 35.3 6.8 57.9 28.5 42.4 3.8 53.7 38.6
Q3:2021-22 1,082 30.6 5.8 63.6 24.8 64.1 2.1 33.8 61.9
Q4:2021-22 1,283 27.7 9.6 62.7 18.1 55.7 2.8 41.5 52.9
Q1:2022-23           62.4 2.5 35.2 59.9
‘Improvement’ in availability of finance is optimistic.

Table 15: Assessment and Expectations for Availability of Finance (from banks and other sources)
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
Improve Worsen No change Net response Improve Worsen No change Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 23.1 6.6 70.3 16.5 19.6 4.3 76.1 15.3
Q1:2021-22 1,281 10.7 13.1 76.1 -2.4 30.0 4.4 65.6 25.6
Q2:2021-22 1,414 33.2 4.9 61.8 28.3 38.4 2.9 58.8 35.5
Q3:2021-22 1,082 26.2 3.9 69.9 22.4 60.6 1.9 37.5 58.7
Q4:2021-22 1,283 24.1 8.0 68.0 16.1 52.0 2.1 45.9 49.8
Q1:2022-23           59.3 1.5 39.2 57.8
‘Improvement’ in availability of finance is optimistic.

Table 16: Assessment and Expectations for Availability of Finance (from overseas, if applicable)
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
Improve Worsen No change Net response Improve Worsen No change Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 7.5 4.8 87.7 2.7 7.2 3.4 89.3 3.8
Q1:2021-22 1,281 13.6 12.0 74.5 1.6 16.5 3.1 80.3 13.4
Q2:2021-22 1,414 33.8 2.3 63.9 31.5 44.0 1.3 54.7 42.7
Q3:2021-22 1,082 22.4 3.4 74.1 19.0 66.5 0.6 32.8 65.9
Q4:2021-22 1,283 17.9 8.7 73.4 9.1 52.5 1.5 46.0 50.9
Q1:2022-23           60.2 0.9 38.9 59.2
‘Improvement’ in availability of finance is optimistic.

Table 17: Assessment and Expectations for Cost of Finance
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
Increase Decrease No change Net response Increase Decrease No change Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 16.7 13.3 70.0 -3.4 13.3 8.3 78.4 -5.0
Q1:2021-22 1,281 15.7 11.3 73.0 -4.5 22.2 8.2 69.6 -13.9
Q2:2021-22 1,414 32.5 4.0 63.5 -28.6 34.9 3.3 61.8 -31.5
Q3:2021-22 1,082 24.9 5.5 69.5 -19.4 58.3 2.5 39.3 -55.8
Q4:2021-22 1,283 22.1 9.6 68.3 -12.6 50.7 2.1 47.2 -48.6
Q1:2022-23           57.0 2.1 40.9 -54.9
‘Decrease’ in cost of finance is optimistic.

Table 18: Assessment and Expectations for Cost of Raw Materials
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
Increase Decrease No change Net response Increase Decrease No change Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 71.0 2.0 26.9 -69.0 45.2 2.6 52.2 -42.7
Q1:2021-22 1,281 58.1 5.8 36.1 -52.3 64.9 2.5 32.6 -62.4
Q2:2021-22 1,414 62.5 1.4 36.1 -61.0 56.8 2.0 41.2 -54.9
Q3:2021-22 1,082 62.0 3.2 34.8 -58.8 76.6 1.4 22.1 -75.2
Q4:2021-22 1,283 55.0 5.5 39.4 -49.5 75.1 1.5 23.3 -73.6
Q1:2022-23           78.2 1.2 20.6 -77.0
‘Decrease’ in cost of raw materials is optimistic.

Table 19: Assessment and Expectations for Salary/Other Remuneration
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
Increase Decrease No change Net response Increase Decrease No change Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 21.8 3.1 75.1 -18.7 19.9 3.9 76.2 -16.0
Q1:2021-22 1,281 26.4 6.5 67.1 -19.9 42.7 1.2 56.1 -41.6
Q2:2021-22 1,414 33.1 1.8 65.2 -31.3 32.5 0.9 66.6 -31.6
Q3:2021-22 1,082 29.3 2.4 68.3 -26.9 51.2 0.9 47.9 -50.4
Q4:2021-22 1,283 24.6 6.4 69.0 -18.2 50.9 1.0 48.2 -49.9
Q1:2022-23           66.3 0.7 33.0 -65.6
‘Decrease’ in Salary / other remuneration is optimistic.

Table 20: Assessment and Expectations for Selling Price
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
Increase Decrease No change Net response Increase Decrease No change Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 31.3 8.6 60.1 22.7 19.6 8.9 71.5 10.7
Q1:2021-22 1,281 26.9 7.3 65.8 19.6 35.0 5.8 59.1 29.2
Q2:2021-22 1,414 42.0 3.9 54.1 38.2 31.1 2.9 66.0 28.2
Q3:2021-22 1,082 34.5 6.3 59.2 28.2 59.7 2.3 38.0 57.4
Q4:2021-22 1,283 30.0 9.7 60.2 20.3 54.0 3.7 42.3 50.3
Q1:2022-23           59.5 3.8 36.7 55.7
‘Increase’ in selling price is optimistic.

Table 21: Assessment and Expectations for Profit Margin
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
Increase Decrease No change Net response Increase Decrease No change Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 24.9 22.9 52.1 2.0 17.8 20.1 62.1 -2.4
Q1:2021-22 1,281 11.8 44.0 44.2 -32.2 28.8 17.8 53.4 11.0
Q2:2021-22 1,414 30.0 20.6 49.5 9.4 43.7 11.0 45.3 32.7
Q3:2021-22 1,082 22.8 19.0 58.2 3.8 59.9 8.2 31.9 51.7
Q4:2021-22 1,283 20.6 21.8 57.6 -1.2 49.5 9.7 40.8 39.8
Q1:2022-23           53.6 10.4 35.9 43.2
‘Increase’ in profit margin is optimistic.

Table 22: Assessment and Expectations for Overall Business Situation
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Total response Assessment Expectations
Better Worsen No change Net response Better Worsen No change Net response
Q4:2020-21 967 49.0 12.4 38.6 36.5 48.2 7.6 44.2 40.7
Q1:2021-22 1,281 18.6 39.2 42.3 -20.6 57.7 5.1 37.2 52.5
Q2:2021-22 1,414 43.5 9.5 47.0 34.0 59.9 7.5 32.5 52.4
Q3:2021-22 1,082 42.3 9.8 47.9 32.5 73.1 2.8 24.1 70.3
Q4:2021-22 1,283 37.7 13.6 48.8 24.1 67.6 4.2 28.2 63.4
Q1:2022-23           71.8 3.8 24.4 68.0
‘Better’ Overall Business Situation is optimistic.

Table 23: Business Sentiments
Quarter Business Assessment Index (BAI) Business Expectations Index (BEI)
Q4:2020-21 115.0 115.4
Q1:2021-22 89.3 121.9
Q2:2021-22 119.4 128.0
Q3:2021-22 115.0 139.3
Q4:2021-22 111.5 137.8
Q1:2022-23   134.7

1 The survey results reflect the respondents’ views, which are not necessarily shared by the Reserve Bank. Results of the previous survey round were released on the Bank’s website on February 10, 2022. This round of the survey was launched on January 21, 2022 and results were compiled with data received till March 28, 2022.

2 For each survey round, two summary indices are computed – one based on assessment [viz., Business Assessment Index (BAI)] and another based on expectations [viz., Business Expectations Index (BEI)]. Each index is a composite indicator calculated as a simple average of nine business parameters, where each parameter is derived as a weighted net response, weights being the share of industry groups in gross value added (GVA). The nine parameters considered are: (1) overall business situation; (2) production; (3) order books; (4) inventory of raw material; (5) inventory of finished goods; (6) profit margins; (7) employment; (8) exports; and (9) capacity utilisation. BAI/BEI gives a snapshot of the business outlook in every quarter and takes values between 0 and 200, with 100 being the threshold separating expansion from contraction.

3 Net Response (NR) is the difference between the percentage of respondents reporting optimism and those reporting pessimism. It ranges between -100 to 100. Any value greater than zero indicates expansion/optimism and any value less than zero indicates contraction/pessimism. In other words, NR = (I – D), where, I is the percentage response of ‘Increase/optimism’, and D is the percentage response of ‘Decrease/pessimism’ and E is the percentage response as ‘no change/equal’ (i.e., I+D+E=100). For example, increase in production is optimism whereas decrease in cost of raw material is optimism.

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