In April 2019, the national industrial production changed by 0.3% compared to March (seasonally-adjusted series), thus, eliminating part of the drop of 1.4% in March. In the comparison with April 2018 (non-adjusted series), the industry fell 3.9%, after registering a decline in the previous month (-6.2%).

As a result, the industrial sector accumulated a loss of 2.7% in the first four months of 2019. The cumulative index in the last twelve months, declining 1.1% in April 2019, kept the downward trend begun in July 2018 (3.3%). With these results, the industrial sector is still 17.3% below the record level reached in May 2011. The complete publication of the Monthly Survey of Industry (PIM-PF) can be accessed on the side of this page.

20 of the 26 industrial sectors advanced

The 0.3% increase of the industrial activity, from March to April 2019, three of the four major economic categories and 20 of the 26 sectors surveyed had expansion in production. Among the activities, the major positive influences were recorded by motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (7.1%) machinery and equipment (8.3%), other chemical products (5.2%) and food products (1.5%), with all of them offsetting the negative behavior seen last March:  -2.8%, -0.1%, -3.9% and -5.0%, respectively. Other relevant positive contributions came from beverages (3.4%), basic metals (1.7%), leather, travel articles and footwear (5.4%), textiles (5.8%), computer, electronic and optical products (4.0%) and rubber products and plastic material (1.9%).  On the other hand, among the six segments that reduced the production this month, the most important performance to the global average was recorded by mining and quarrying industries, which dropped 9.7%, thus, generating the fourth consecutive negative result, accumulating  in the period a reduction of 25.7%. It is worth mentioning the negative impact registered by the sector of coke, petroleum derivatives and biofuels (-2.0%), which decreased in the second month in a row and accumulated a loss of 5.0% in this period.

Among the major economic categories, still considering the comparison with the previous month, durable consumer goods (3.4%), capital goods (2.9%) and semi- and non- durable consumer goods (2.6%) recorded the positive rates in April 2019. With those results, the first segment eliminated the drop pf 0.6% seen in March; the second completed the third month in a row of growth in production, a period when it accumulated an expansion of 9.1% and the last one was back to growth again after falling 0.9% in the previous month. On the other hand, the sector of intermediate goods (-1.4%) had the only negative rate this month and recorded the fourth drawback in a row, accumulating a reduction of 4.2%.

Quarterly Moving Average changes -0.1%

In the seasonally adjusted series, the evolution of the quarterly moving average index for the overall industry decreased 0.1% in the quarter ended in April 2019, against the level of the previous month and it kept the downward trend started in August 2018. Among the major economic categories, also in relation to the movement of this index on margin, intermediate goods, after dropping 1.4%, had the sharpest fall this month and the third negative result in a row, accumulating a reduction of 2.6% in this period. On the other hand, the sectors in charge of capital goods (2.9%), of durable consumer goods (2.2%) and of semi- and non- durable consumer goods (0.8%) recorded advances in April 2019, with the first one intensifying the expansion seen in the previous month (1.3%), when it interrupted four consecutive months of growth, accumulating in this period a gain of 5.1%; and the last one keept the predominant upward trend initiated in January 2019.

Industry falls 3.9% over April 2018

Compared with the same month a year ago, the industrial sector fell 3.9% in April 2019, recording positive figures in three of the four major economic categories, 13 out of the 26 sectors, 40 out of the 79 groups and 52.8% of the 805 products surveyed. It is worth mentioning that April 2019 (21 days) had the same number of workdays as the same month a year ago (21). Among the activities, mining and quarrying industries (-24.0%) exerted the greatest negative influence in the formation of the industrial average, pushed to a large extent by the lower manufacture of the items iron ores, which reflected the effects of the Brumadinho (MG) waste dam collapse taken place in January 2019. It is also worth highlighting the negative contributions registered by the segments of food products (4.8%), coke, petroleum products and biofuels (-4.1%), of printing and reproduction of recorded media (-27.1%), maintenance, repair and installation of machinery and equipment (-13.0%), other transportation equipment (-13.4%) and computer, electronic and optical products (-6.5%).

In terms of products, the sharpest negative impacts in those segments were, respectively, granulated, VHP and refined sugar from sugarcane, cakes and other residues from the extraction of soybean oil, fresh or cooled beef, wheat flour and fresh or cooled giblets; fuel oils and ethyl alcohol; books, brochures or printed matter on demand, CDs and standardized printed matter for commercial purposes; maintenance and repair of machinery and equipment for industrial use, floating structures and non-electric motor machines; ship for transporting persons or cargo (including oil tankers and platforms), airplanes, passenger and freight wagons and parts and pieces for railway vehicles; and TVs, portable personal computers (laptops, notebooks, tablets and the like), mobile phone transmitters or receivers, antennas, and desktop computers.

On the other hand, still considering the comparison with April 2018, among the twelve sectors that recorded expansion in production, the main influences on the total figure of industries were seen in machinery and equipment (4.4%), motor vehicles, trailers and bodies (1.9%), beverages (5.2%) and metal products (5.4%), driven to a large extent by the increased production of ball bearings, needles, cylinders or rollers for industrial equipment, pulp machinery, propellers, fans and exaust hoods for industrial use, metal silos for cereals and wall and window air-conditioners (including the split system) in the first; of car parts, trailers and semi-trailers and cars, in the second; beer, draft beer and syrup preparations for the manufacture of beverages for industrial purposes, in the third; and of prefabricated constructions of metal, iron and steel containers for the transportation or storage of gases, household aluminum articles, razors, iron and steel structures in plates or other shapes, steam generating boilers and bridges and elements of iron and steel bridges, in the fourth.

Intermediate goods (-6.1%), still in the comparison with the same month a year ago recorded, in April 2019, the sharpest decrease among the major economic categories. The sectors producing semi- and non-durable consumer goods (-0.7%) and capital goods (-0.6%) also showed negative rates, but they were lower than the national average (-3.9%). On the other hand, the segment of durable consumer goods (1.2%) registered the only positive result this month.

The production of intermediate goods pointed out a reduction of 6.1% in April 2019 over the same period in the previous year, the eight consecutive negative rate in this kind of comparison and the highest since October 2016 (-7.2%). The result this month was explained mainly by the decreases in the products associated with the activities of mining and quarrying industries (-24.0%), food products (-12.9%), coke, petroleum products and biofuels (-2 , 0%), of rubber and plastic (-1.7%) and of pulp, paper and paper products (-0.9%), while positive pressures were registered by basic metals (1.9% ), motor vehicles, trailers and bodies (2.5%), metal products (2.9%), other chemical products (1.3%), textiles (4.6%), non-metallic mineral products (0.8%) and machinery and equipment (0.4%). Also in this economic category, it is worth mentioning the positive results indicated by the groups of typical inputs for civil construction (0.4%), which grew again after falling back by 4.1% in March; and packaging (5.1%), which showed the fourth advance in a row in this type of comparison and which was the sharpest of this sequence.

 The segment od semi- and non- durable consumer goods, declining 0.7% in the monthly index of April 2019, marks the second consecutive negative result, but far less higher than the one recorded in the previous month (-5.3%). This month's performance was mainly explained by the drop in the fuel group (-9.1%), influenced by the lower production of ethyl alcohol and motor gasoline. Of note is the negative result indicated by the subsector of non-durables (-2.2%), which is largely attributable to the reduction in the production of books, brochures or printed matter and medicines. On the other hand, the subsectors of foods and beverages for household consumption (1.5%) and of semidurable goods (1.6%) showed the positive rates in this category, driven to a large extent by the higher production of beer, draft beer, concentrated fruit juices, frozen giblets, sausage or salami, and other preparations of meat, ice cream and popsicles, bread and dry pasta, in the first group; and women's footwear of synthetic material, women's apparel, household aluminum gadgets, women's molded plastic footwear, women's shirts, blouses and the like (woven),  woven shirts, molded rubber footwear, men's pants, shorts and the like (woven or not), in the second.

The capital goods sector, which fell 0.6% in April 2019, marked the second consecutive negative result, but with a much smaller decrease than that of the previous month (-11.1%). In the formation of this month's index, the segment was influenced, to a great extent, by the decrease observed in the group of capital goods for transportation equipment (-2.9%), mainly due to the lower manufacturing of ships for the transportation of people or cargo (including oil tankers and platforms), vehicles for the transportation of goods, airplanes, trucks and railcars for passengers and for the transportation of goods. The other negative rates were recorded by mixed-use capital goods (-6.8%), electricity (-11.9%) and agricultural products (-8.8%). On the other hand, the positive impacts were recorded by the groups of capital goods for industrial prusposes (8.1%) and for construction (5.3%).

The segment of durable consumer goods showed a 1.2% increase in April 2019 compared to the same period of the previous year, after retreating 15.5% last March. This month, the sector was particularly leveraged by the advances in with goods (9.8%) and cars (1.3%). Of note is the increase seen in motorcycles (2.8%) and other household appliances (12.6%). On the other hand, the main negative impact was in brown goods (-9.8%) and furniture (-2.1%).

In 2019, industry accumulates retraction of 2.7%

Compared with the same period in the previous year, the cumulative index for the January-April 2019 decreased 2.7%, registering negative figures in the four major economic categories, 19 out of the 26 sectors, 52 out of the 79 groups and 56.0% of the 805 products surveyed. Among the activities, mining and quarrying industries (-11.8%) exerted the greatest negative influence in the formation of the industrial average, pushed to a large extent by the items iron ore and crude petroleum oil. It is also worth highlighting the negative contributions of the sectors: food products (-2.4%), computer, electronic and optical products (-11.3%), pharmaceutical products (-8.2%), maintenance, repair and installation of machinery and equipment (-9.8%). Other transportation equipment (-11.3%), rubber and plastic  (-3.2%), printing and reproduction of recorded media (-15.7%), wood products (-7.3%), pulp, paper and paper products (-2.3%), influenced mostly by the items VHP, granulated and refined sugarcane sugar, concentrated orange juice, cakes, bagasse, bran and other residues from the extraction of soybean oil, crude soybean oil, fresh or chilled giblets and poultry, wheat flour and fresh or cooled beef; TVs and portable personal computers (laptops, notebooks, tablets and the like); medicines; maintenance and repair services of machinery and equipment for industrial use, floating structures and machinery and equipment for prospecting and mineral extraction; airplanes, ships for the transportation of persons or cargo (including oil tankers and platforms) and passenger and freight wagons; plastic and rubber parts and accessories for the automobile industry, new car tires, disposable plastic articles, household plastic articles, plastic pipes and tubes for construction works and fittings, joints, elbows and other plastic pipe fittings ; books, brochures or printed matter on demand, CDs, printed paper stickers, printed for advertising or promotional purposes on paper and DVDs; sawn, planed or polished wood and panels of wood fibers; and wood chemical pulp (cellulose).

On the other hand, among the seven activities that indicated an increase in production, the main influences in the total industry were recorded by beverages (5.0%), coke, petroleum products and biofuels (1.7%) and metal products (5.3%), driven, to a large extent, by beer and draft beer, in the first; diesel oil in the second; and prefabricated constructions of metal, bridges and bridges of iron and steel, iron and steel containers for the transportation or storage of gases, shavers, aluminum, iron or steel gadgets for domestic use, iron and steel structures in plates or other shapes, guns and pistols, steam generating boilers and devices of iron or drawn steel,  in the third.

On a four-month basis, the industrial sector, which declined by 2.7% in the first four months of 2019, intensified the decline observed in the last four months of 2018 (-1.5%) and remained with the clear loss of pace initiated in the first four months of 2018 (4.4%), all comparisons against the same period of the previous year. The reduction in the intensity of industrial production was also observed in three of the four major economic categories, especially capital goods, which increased from 3.5% in the last four months of 2018 to -3.1% in the  January-April period of 2019 (from 8.0% to -3.8%) and agricultural goods (from 23.6% to -5.1%). The sectors producing intermediate goods (from -2.0% to -3.1%) and semi-durable and non-durable consumer goods (from -1.2% to -1.3%) had the same movement between the two periods, while the durable consumer goods segment (-2.9% to -2.2%) was the only one that showed a reduction in the loss intensity.