Lithuanian Industry Expectations Index improved for the second month in a row – in February it reached 48.6 points and was 1.2 points higher than a month ago, the Confederation of Lithuanian Industrialists (LPK) announced on Wednesday.

According to Vidmantas Janulevičius, President of the LPK, it is still early to be happy, as the mood of the country's industry was improving even before US President Donald Trump announced the planned imposition of 25% import duties on goods from the European Union (EU). 

According to Mr Janulevičius, if the US imposes new tariffs on European producers, German exports will be the first to suffer, which will also affect Lithuanian business. 

„The improvement in expectations in February was largely driven by the confidence of industrial companies in the improving industrial production forecasts. One in three industrial enterprises believes that production volumes will increase in the near future. The period for which companies have secured production orders is lengthening," Janulevičius said in a statement.

According to the CCI, the expectations index in February was better than the industry average for furniture (53.1 points), textiles (52.8), computers, electronics and optical products (52), other non-metallic mineral products (50.2), and chemicals and chemical products (49.2). 

In the meantime, the expectations of enterprises in food, clothing, wood and wood products other than furniture, rubber and plastics, and fabricated metal products other than machinery and equipment were lower in February than the average for the industry as a whole.

Expectations for new hiring improved for the first time in four months – three out of four firms   do not expect to hire in the near future, and only one in ten will cut back on hiring. 

Production capacity utilisation fell by 1 point to 70.1% during the month. It was above average in furniture (85%) and clothing (80.2%), but below average in mineral products (53.1%) and in the manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment (61.9%). 

The Index of Industry Expectations has been compiled since 2015. During this time, the highest value of the index was recorded in May 2021 at 54.5 and the lowest in April 2020 at 38.9.