According to a study conducted by the Basque Chambers of Commerce in 2003, subcontracting companies in the Basque Country represented 27.6% of all its industrial companies and 20% of contracting activities in the Spanish Estate.
Subcontracting is becoming more and more important for the economy of the Basque Country and involves a growing number of companies. In 2003, there were 4,173 Basque subcontractors employing 67,000 workers, namely 31.1% of all the jobs in the Basque Community, and with a turnover of 9,500 million euros per year, 19% of the figure for Basque industry as a whole.
The survey includes a number of interesting details such as the fact that 54% of these companies receive the technical design from the contractor, 38% co-operate and participate with the contractor in the technical design and 7% of subcontractors carry out the entire process. 26.8% of Basque subcontractors provide the raw materials, while 27.5% place their own trademark on the final product.
32% of subcontracting companies make investments in R&D and 53.6% declare that they sell on export markets, especially in Europe.
Two out of every three of these companies have been in existence for more than 15 years and generate stable, qualified employment. Well-established activities include heat treatments, surface coatings, tooling and tools, among others. Intermediate activities include dies, moulds and models, electricity and machining with chip forming. The most dynamic activities include plastics, rubber and electronics, as well as casting and transformation without chip forming. In the complex products segment, the most important sectors are automotive, aeronautics, machinery and transport, and at a less complex level, household appliances, computers and mobile phones.
The Basque Chambers of Commerce- Eusko Ganberak, have carried out an in-depth study of the sector with a report entitled "Industrial subcontracting in the Basque Country. Situation in 2005". The main activities of the Basque subcontracting sector are, according to the study: casting, which in 2005 involved 156 companies employing 8,643 workers (these companies have made great efforts to invest in an attempt to counteract fierce competition from countries with cheaper labour); companies that offer services including drop-forging, stamping and deep-drawing of metals and powder metallurgy, consisting of 343 companies and 8,005 employees (these found themselves in a situation of great uncertainty); companies engaged in metal treatment and coatings and general mechanical engineering, with 2,003 companies and 14,240 employees (in the case of metal treatment and coatings, the situation was unfavourable, while general mechanical engineering was in a stable situation, although with a lack of specialised labour); the rubber transformation industry, with 173 companies and 9,354 jobs, affected by competition from China and Eastern Europe in the manufacture of moulded parts of rubber and metal rubber, while the coating subsector, this being an activity that requires a certain proximity, has benefited from a more favourable situation; manufacturers of technical parts in plastic materials amounted to 386 with 8,153 workers, whose profit has been reduced due to the increase in the price of raw materials and competition from emerging countries, and, finally, the metal construction sector with 1,148 companies and 12,715 workers, who expected slight growth.
-Subcontracting in the Basque Country
