Brazilian Companies Fear 2018 Already a 'Lost Year'

[Judi Lynn]

07/16/2018 - 11H46


FLAVIA LIMA
JOANA CUNHA
ANAÏS FERNANDES
SÃO PAULO

Although economists see the poor indicators disclosed after the truck drivers' strike as something less disastrous that they had expected, their opinion is not shared by the so-called real economy.

Restaurant owners, wholesalers, retail dealers, and the industry have reviewed their projections for the end of the year as they believe that part of the losses they had after the strike cannot be recovered. They fear that the damage done to the reliability of businessmen and consumers will last for a long time.

The service sector, which closed the cycle of studies that assess the effects of the truck drivers' stoppage on the main sectors of the economy, declined by 3.8% in May in comparison to April - it is the worst performance since the figures were first recorded, in 2011.

The industry also fell to the level of 2003. "We feel very frustrated," says José Velloso, the executive president of the Brazilian Association of Machinery and Equipment.

More:
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/business/2018/07/1975872-brazilian-companies-fear-2018-already-a-lost-year.shtml