Statistical Analysis of the Development of Ukrainian Industry: Has It Reserves?

• Main Author: M. V. Puhachova
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the National Academy of Statistics, Accounting and Audit (NASAA), the National Academy for Public Administration (NAPA) under the President of Ukraine 2017-09-01
• Series: Статистика України
• Subjects: інвестиції, промислові підприємства, завантаження виробничих потужностей, попит, обстеження ділової активності підприємств
• Online Access: https://su-journal.com.ua/index.php/journal/article/view/127

The current of prospective trends in investment processes at industrial enterprises of Ukraine are studied using the data from Business Tendency Surveys (BTS), which tend to be overlooked by domestic analysts. The study is made by the system of survey indicators, proposed by the author, and in comparison with the data on EU as the whole, and Lithuania and Poland in particular. The study’s objective is to find out whether or not Ukrainian enterprises need external or internal investment given a high ratio of production capacities utilization, if the respondents’ treatment of this indicator may be ambiguous. Ukrainian industrial enterprises have the non-stop feeling of investment shortage and report very pessimistic expectations in this respect. The situation is ultimately different at industrial enterprises in European countries: at EU level the respondents’ attitudes are moderately positive regarding both expected and reported investment As regards Lithuanian enterprises, they might have received sizeable financial “injections” and, therefore, have quite optimistic expectations for future. The utilization of production capacities at enterprises is analyzed in parallel with the dynamics of investment processes, because when an enterprise has idle capacities, the question arises: does it really need any investment? The enterprise’s capacities may not be utilized optimally due to technical or technological reasons, but they are recorded anyway in calculating the utilization ratio; it is not known, therefore, what made respondents give such assessments. According to the information coming from Ukrainian surveys, with production capacities more than sufficient and utilization ratio lower than the normal, the significant lack of demand for products is reported. In European countries, where the demand has to stimulate further investment growth, much higher ratio of production capacities utilization is fixed. Therefore, Ukrainian enterprises need investment because of no massive renovation of facilities, which means that their production capacities cannot produce the output that could have been generated in case of their moral and physical renovation. This could have resulted in the enhanced competitiveness of Ukrainian products and the higher demand for them.