# French manufacturers raise 2026 investment assessments as capacity constraints persist > Insee’s October business survey found improving annual investment expectations, while 42% of manufacturers said they could not raise output with current equipment if orders increased. - Topic: Economic and industry statistics - Subjects: Official statistics, Manufacturing, Construction - Event date: 2026-10-22 - First published on EPC Feed: 2026-10-25T01:45:37.511Z - Updated: 2026-10-25T01:45:37.511Z - Countries: France - Page: https://epcfeed.com/news/french-industry-investment-survey-october-2026 ## Key facts - Publication: 22 October 2026 - Manufacturers at capacity limit: 42% in October 2026 - Capacity utilisation: 82%, one point below long-term average - Planned investment opinion balance: 19 in October; 18 in July; long-term average 15 - Selling price change reported: 0.1% in the previous three months, compared with 1.5% in July France’s manufacturers revised their assessment of 2026 investment upward in Insee’s October survey and offered a first, comparatively optimistic view of investment in 2027. The statistical institute published the quarterly results on 22 October. The survey does not report realised spending or a euro total: its key findings describe the balance of business leaders’ opinions and expectations. Insee said the latest results were provisional. The outlook was not uniformly stronger. Manufacturers were less optimistic than in July about demand over the next three months. Opinion balances for expected global and foreign demand both fell, although both remained above their long-term averages. The balance for past foreign demand rose for a fifth consecutive quarter, reaching its highest level since October 2022; the global-demand balance also rebounded. This separates the survey’s backward-looking assessments from its short-range forecasts. For the next three months, the seasonally adjusted opinion balance on planned investment increased for a third consecutive quarter, but by less than before. The reported balance reached 19 in October, compared with 18 in July and a long-term average of 15. These are balances, not percentages of firms that will invest and not forecasts of the amount to be spent. Insee cautioned that October’s supplementary quarterly questions compare with the preceding quarter, unlike the monthly indicators in other releases. The capacity answers suggest why investment sentiment and immediate production headroom need not move together. Forty-two per cent of surveyed manufacturers said they could not increase output with their present means if they received more orders. That proportion was unchanged from July and remained well above its long-term average. Capacity utilisation also held at 82%, one point below its historical average. Meanwhile, the balance of firms judging capacity sufficient for expected orders fell to minus two, below its long-run average of 12. Price and staffing responses were mixed. Firms reported that selling prices had risen by an average 0.1% over the previous three months, down from 1.5% in July; they expected a 0.2% increase over the coming three months. Reported recruitment difficulties stayed at 38% between July and October, above the long-term average of 33%. The balance on general hourly-wage expectations slipped from minus 54 in July to minus 58, while the unadjusted cash-position balance declined from minus nine to minus 13. Insee’s annual investment comparison showed that more respondents in October than in April expected their 2026 investment to rise against 2025. The balance was revised upward across manufacturing subsectors except “other industries,” where it edged down; the revision was particularly marked for transport equipment. For 2027, the first balance was above the balance recorded a year earlier for expected 2026 investment. Insee said this added optimism applied across all subsectors. The release does not identify individual companies or name projects. The survey’s interpretation depends on its method and timing. Each January, April, July and October, Insee adds quarterly, semiannual or annual questions to the monthly industrial survey. The latest answers were collected from 25 September through 19 October 2026. Insee said investment-expectation series available since October 2021 are seasonally adjusted beginning with this release. The publication belongs to the harmonised European business-survey programme, with results sent to the European Commission before month-end. These are respondents’ reported perceptions, rather than a measurement of completed capital expenditure. ## Sources 1. [En octobre 2026, les industriels revoient à la hausse leurs investissements – Informations rapides no. 257](https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/9095034). Official data, Insee, Published 2026-10-22, Read 2026-10-25. 2. [Enquête mensuelle de conjoncture dans l’industrie 2026: traitement statistique](https://www.insee.fr/fr/metadonnees/source/operation/s2251/processus-statistique). Official data, Insee, Published 2026-10-23, Read 2026-10-25. 3. [Enquête trimestrielle sur les investissements dans l’industrie: description and method](https://www.insee.fr/fr/metadonnees/source/serie/s1207). Official data, Insee, Read 2026-10-25.