With a decrease of 0.3% in national industrial output, six of the 15 areas surveyed recorded negative rates from July to August 2018, in the seasonally-adjusted series.

The most significant decreases came from Amazonas (-5.3%), Pará (-1.1%), Espírito Santo (-0.9%), São Paulo (-0.9%), Santa Catarina (-0.7%) and Rio de Janeiro (-0.3%). On the other hand, Mato Grosso (3.0%), Bahia (2.7%) and Pernambuco (2.6%) recorded the most significant increases in the month. Ceará (1.5%), Northeast Region (1.5%), Rio Grande do Sul (0.8%), Paraná (0.7%), Minas Gerais (0.5%) and Goiás (0.2%) completed the group of areas with positive results. The complete publication of the National Survey of Industry – Regional Production (PIM-PF Reg.) can be found on the right of the page. 

Also in the seasonally-adjusted series, the evolution of the quarterly moving average index for the industry overall recorded an increase of 3.8% in the quarter ended August 2018 against the previous month. It is the most significant increase since the start of the time series, with an upward trend observed since May 2018. In regional terms, 14 areas had positive rates, the main highligts being the significant increases in Mato Grosso (8.2%), Paraná (7.8%), Rio Grande do Sul (6.6%), Pernambuco (5.5%), Bahia (5.4%), Santa Catarina (5.4%), Northeast Region (4.8%), São Paulo (3.5%) and Goiás (3.4%). On the other hand, Amazonas (-1.8%) recorded the only decrease in August 2018.

In comparison with the result of August 2017, industry recorded an increase of 2.0% in August 2018, with positive rates recorded in 11 of the 15 areas surveyed. It is worth mentioning that August 2018 had the same number of business days (23) as the same month a year ago.  

In the month, Rio Grande do Sul (12.3%), Pernambuco (11.7%) and Pará (11.0%) recorded the most significant increases. In Rio Grande do Sul, the result was mainly due to the increases observed in the sectors of motor vehicles, trailers and bodies (trailers and semi-trailers, cars and bus bodies), pulp, paper and paper products (cellulose), metal products (pre-fabricated metal articles and aluminum items for domestic use), machinery and equipment (machines for extracting or preparing animal or vegetable oil or fat, farm tractors, harvesters, self-serving trading terminals and forklift trucks) and coke, petroleum products and biofuels (diesel fuel, biodiesel and naphtha for petrochemical industry).

In Pernambuco, increase was due to advances in the sectors of food products (crystallized and VHP sugar, ice cream and popsicles, frozen poultry giblets and margarine). In Pará, the result was mainly influenced by the advance of the sector of mining and quarrying industry (raw or processed iron ores).

Paraná (6.5%), Santa Catarina (5.0%), Rio de Janeiro (4.5%) and Northeast Region (3.6%) also recorded positive rates above the national average (2.0%), whereas Mato Grosso (1.4%), Bahia (1.2%), São Paulo (0.7%) and Minas Gerais (0.5%) completed the group of areas with increase of output this month. 

On the other hand, Amazonas (-6.7%) and Goiás (-4.1%) recorded the most significant increases of August 2018. In Amazonas, decrease resulted, to a great extent, from the negative performance of coke, petroleum products and biofuels (diesel, naphtha for petrochemical industry, automotive gas, fuel oils and liquefied petroleum gas) and computer equipment, electronic and optical products (television sets and portable personal computers - laptops, notebooks, tablets and the like).

In Goiás, decrease was mainly caused by the negative performance of the sectors of cars, trailers and bodies (cars), coke, petroleum products and biofuels (ethyl alcohol) and mining and quarrying industry (copper ores and calcium phosphates). Espírito Santo (-1.8%) and Ceará (-0.5%) also recorded negative result in the month. 

Having advanced 0.8% in the second fou-month period of 2018, the industrial sector kept its positive results, but with a decrease of pace against the result of the first four-month period in the year (4.5%) - both comparisons against the same period in the previous year. This deceleration on increase is related to the decrease observed in May 2018, due to interruptions in many industrial plants, mainly as a result of the truck drivers' strike in the last ten days of that month. 

In the same comparison, eight of the 15 areas surveyed also recorded decrease of dynamism, the main highlights being Amazonas (from 21.3% to 1.5%), São Paulo (from 7.8% to 0.6%), Ceará (from 3.5% to -3.3%), Goiás (from 0.5% to -5.9%), Mato Grosso (from 4.1% to -2.0%) and Santa Catarina (from 7.3% to 2.2%). On the other hand, Pernambuco (from 3.5% to 7.9%), Pará (from 6.9% to 11.1%) and Espírito Santo (from -5.0% to -1.9%) recorded the most significant increases between the two periods.

In the cumulative index in the period January-August 2018, against the same period in 2017, there were increases in 11 of the 15 areas surveyd, the main highlights being the two-digit figure in Amazonas (10.9%). Pará (9.2%), Pernambuco (5.6%), Santa Catarina (4.6%), Rio de Janeiro (4.5%), São Paulo (3.7%) and Rio Grande do Sul (3.7%) also recorded increase above the average of industry (2.5%). 

In these areas, the biggest dynamism was particularly influenced by factors related to the expansion of production of capital goods (mainly those aimed at the sector of transportation, for construction and mixed use); of intermediate goods (pulp, diesel fuel, naphtha for petrochemical, aviation kerosene, basic metal, derivatives from soybean extraction, syrup for beverage preparations for industrial use, tires, parts and pieces for the car industry, car pieces, packaging and rubber and plastic products); durable consumer goods (cars and brown goods); and semi and non-durable consumer goods (beers, draft beer, frozen, fresh or cooled beef, textiles, ethyl alcohol, medicines, and toiletries, soaps and cleaning and personal hygiene products).

On the other hand, the most significant decreases in the cumulative indexes in the ear were observed in Goiás (-3.6%) and in Espírito Santo (-3.4%), mainly due to the negative performance from the activities food products (crystallized and VHP sugar), in the former; and non-metallic mineral products (carved or sawed granite - including plates and Portland cement) and pulp, paper and paper products (cellulose), in the latter. Minas Gerais (-1.3%) and Ceará (-0.1%) also recorded negative rates in the period January-August 2018.

The cumulative index in twelve months, having changed from 3.3% in July to 3.1% in August 2018, recorded slight deceleration once more, after interrupting, last May (3.0%) the upward trend initiated in June 2016 (-9.7%). In regional terms, 13 of the 15 areas surveyed recorded positive rates in August 2018, but eight of them had reuced dynamism against the July indexes for 2018. Mato Grosso (from 5.0% to 3.8%), Amazonas (from 11.2% to 10.1%), Espírito Santo (from -2.3% to -3.1%), Goiás (from1.6% to 0.9%) and São Paulo (from 5.4% to 4.9%) recorded significant deceleration between July and August 2018, whereas Rio Grande do Sul (from 0.8% to 2.0%), Pernambuco (from 3.1% to 4.0%) and Rio de Janeiro (from 5.4% to 5.9%) recorded the main increases.