In the seasonally-adjusted series, the industrial output grew 0.4% in January 2021 against December. After rising for nine months, the sector accrued a growth of 42.3%, eliminating the loss of 27.1% registered between March and April, which had taken the output to the lowest level in the time series. Even with the positive behavior in the latest months, the industrial sector was still 12.9% below the record level reached in May 2011.

In the seasonally-unadjusted series, the industry advanced 2.0% in relation to January 2020. The cumulative index over the last 12 months dropped 4.3% in January, maintaining the reduced pace of loss against the figures of the previous months. 

The rise of 0.4% in the industrial activity between December 2020 and January 2021 reached two out of four major economic categories and 11 out of 26 sectors surveyed. Unlike the previous months, positive rates did not prevail among the major economic categories and industrial activities surveyed in January.

Food industry exerted the biggest positive influence

Among the activities, food products was the major positive influence by advancing 3.1%, offsetting part of the reduction of 11.0% in the last three months of 2020.

Other important positive contributions to the overall industry came from mining and quarrying industries (1.5%), miscellaneous manufacturing (14.9%), pulp, paper and paper products (4.4%), motor vehicles, trailers and bodies (1.0%) and furniture (3.6%).

On the other hand, basic metals (-13.9%) exerted the major negative impact this month among the 14 dropping activities, interrupting six consecutive months of positive rates that accrued an expansion of 59.0% in this period.

It is worth highlighting the negative figures in computer equipment, electronic and optical products (-10.6%), coke, petroleum products and biofuels (-1.4%), other transportation equipment (-16.0%), machinery and equipment (-2.3%), tobacco products (-11.3%), maintenance, repair and installation of machinery and equipment (-4.9%) and textiles
(-2.5%).

Among the major economic categories, still in relation to December 2020, capital goods grew 4.5%, the highest rate for January 2021 and the ninth consecutive month of rise, accruing an advance of 148.4% in this period.

The sector producing semi and non-durable consumer goods (2.0%) also grew above the industry average (0.4%), offsetting the negative figure registered in December 2020 (-0.4%). On the other hand, the segments of intermediate goods (-1.3%) and of durable consumer goods (-0.7%) recorded the negative rates in January 2021, the former reversing the expansion of 1.4% reported last December, and the latter interrupting eight consecutive months of positive rates, a period in which it accrued an advance of 552.2%.

Moving average advances 0.8% in quarter ended in January

Still in the seasonally-adjusted series, the evolution of the quarterly moving average index for the overall industry expanded 0.8% in the quarter ended in January 2021 against the level of the previous month, after also advancing in December (1.0%), November (1.6%), October (2.4%), September (4.8%), August (7.0%) and July (9.0%) 2020, when it interrupted the predominantly downward trend started in November 2019.

Among the major economic categories, capital goods (5.0%) and durable consumer goods (1.9%) posted the most intense advances this month, both of them maintaining the positive behavior since July 2020 and accruing gains of 87.3% and 192.1% in this period, respectively.

The segment of semi and non-durable consumer goods (0.9%) also grew in January 2021, thus maintaining the sequence of positive figures started in June 2020 and accruing an expansion of 22.5% in this period. Having repeated the level registered last December, the sector producing intermediate goods (0.0%) interrupted the upward trend started in June 2020.

Industry advanced 2.0 in relation to January 2020

Compared with January 2020, the industrial sector advanced 2.0% in January 2021, with positive figures in two out of four major economic categories, 18 out of 26 sectors, 52 out of 79 groups and 57.9% of the 805 products surveyed. It is worth mentioning that January 2021 had less two business days (20 days) than January 2020 (22).

Among the activities, the major positive influences were machinery and equipment (17.7%), fabricated metal products (12.9%), motor vehicles, trailers and bodies (4.8%), non-metallic mineral products (11.5%) and rubber and plastic products (9.5%).

Other important positive impacts came from other chemicals (5.4%), textiles (21.7%), electrical machinery and apparatus (9.3%), basic metals (3.6%), pulp, paper and paper products (4.9%), manufacture of wearing apparel and accessories (6.7%) and leather, traveling articles and footwear (6.4%).

Still comparing with January 2020, among the eight activities that reduced their output, food products (-5.5%), coke, petroleum products and biofuels (-4.5%), and other transportation equipment (-36.7%) exerted the major negative influences on the industry average.

Among the major economic categories, capital goods (17.0%) recorded the sharpest advance in January 2021. The segment of intermediate goods (2.3%) also grew above the industry average (2.0%).

On the other hand, the sectors producing durable consumer goods (-4.2%) and semi and non-durable consumer goods (-0.4%) registered negative rates.