Cars lead to decrease of industrial output after four months of increase
March 06, 2018 09h00 AM | Last Updated: March 08, 2018 01h57 PM
After growing for four consecutive months, between September and December 2017, industrial production fell 2.4 % in January. The fall, registered by the Monthly Survey of Industry Physical Production Brazil, released today by the IBGE, was the most significant since February 2016 (-2.5%). In contrast with January 2017, however, the result recorded a rise of 5.7%. And the cumulative rate in 12 months (2.8%) also had its the best result since June 2011 (3.6%)
The fall of industry was widespread, reaching 19 of the 24 industrial subsectors surveyed. The main negative influence came from the car industry, which declined 7.6%, after having grown 9.1% in December. Also contributed to the decrease, in January: metallurgy (-4.1%), rubber and plastic products (-5.4%) and food products (-1.1%) among other sectors.
According to the research manager, André Macedo, the car sector payed a relevant role both in the growth of industry in December as in the decline now in January. “The car industry has a strong linkage effect and affects several segments that produce components used in cars”, he explains.
Compared to the previous year, the rise against January 2017 (5.7%) was observed in 20 of the 26 industrial subsectors. Motor vehicles, trailers and trunks (27.4%) also had the biggest positive influence on the industry average in this comparison.
André Macedo emphasizes that the January result cannot be considered separately since it’s influenced by the strength of the December production. “The industrial sector still presents characteristics of recovery from the last year losses, but a gradual recovery”, he summarizes.
