From December to January, when the industrial production of the country shrank -0.3%, there was retraction in eight of the 15 locations investigated by the Regional Monthly Survey of Industry (PIM). The biggest falls in the period were registered by Rio Grande do Sul (-3.4%), São Paulo (-3.1%) and Mato Grosso (-2.0%). In the cumultive index in 12 months, the industry changed -0.2%, with negative results in seven areas. The data were released today (April 6th) by the IBGE.

The drop in industrial production in São Paulo came after a 0.8% decrease in the previous month. As a result, the industry of the state accumulates a retraction of 3.9% in these two months. “This result of the São Paulo industry, in comparison with December, had the greatest influence on the national result and was affected by the sectors of petroelum products and motor vehicles. We know that, in January, the car industry usually gives collective vacations and with that there is a drop in production. There is also a certain caution in the sector's production, since the shortage of inputs and the rise in raw materials have been impacting the pace of production”, explains the survey analyst, Bernardo Almeida.

In Rio Grande do Sul, the retraction in January eliminated the gain of 1.9% that had been registered in December. The result is also linked to the petroleum derivatives sector. “Secondly, there is also the tobacco products sector, which exerted a negative influence on the industry in Rio Grande do Sul”, he analyzes. In addition to being the biggest drop among the locations investigated by the survey, the negative result of production in Rio Grande do Sul was the second with the greatest influence on the national index.

In Mato Grosso, the retraction interrupted two consecutive months of expansion, when there was a cumulative gain of 9.3%. "In that state, there was a drop in food production and, secondarily, there was also a negative impact on the beverage sector", says the analyst.

Other negative results came from Rio de Janeiro (-1.0%), Santa Catarina (-1.0%), Pará (-0.4%), Paraná (-0.3%) and Bahia (-0.2 %). Espírito Santo (18.6%) and Pernambuco (17.3%) were the areas where there was the greatest expansion. The high production in Espírito Santo was preceded by a decrease of 5.2% in December, while the industry of Pernambuco eliminated, with the increase in January, part of the loss of 26.2% accumulated in the last four months of last year.

The other positive results, still in comparison with the previous month, came from the following places: Northeast Region (6.1%), Goiás (2.5%), Amazonas (2.4%), Ceará (1.5%) and Minas Gerais (0.6%).

Industrial production retreats in seven places year-to-year

Today's dissemination is the first after the updates in the sample selection of companies and local branches and in the list of the products investigated in the survey. In addition, there were methodological changes aimed at keeping up with the economic changes in society. Three new locations were also included among those surveyed: Rio Grande do Norte, Maranhão and Mato Grosso do Sul – as they reached 0.5% of the industrial transformation (VTI), according to the Annual Survey of Industry (PIA) - Enterprise.

Bernardo Almeida explains that, at this first moment, there are only results for the three new locations in the monthly interannual indicator. “We need a larger series to produce more accurate and robust data to allow for the dissemination of other indicators. For the 12-month cumulative indicator, for example, it is not possible yet to disclose the data due to the survey's own methodology, since the time series of these locations are very recent”, he says.

With the change of 0.3% of the national industry, in comparison with January of last year, seven of the 18 areas surveyed also had positive results. The biggest increases came from Amazonas (13.0%), Maranhão (11.5%) and Minas Gerais (9.8%).

“Minas Gerais was the main influence on the result of 0.3% of the national industry. The sector that most boosted industry in the state was mining and quarrying, due to the increase in iron ore production. There is also a highlight for petroleum derivatives, with an increase in the production of diesel oil, motor gasoline, petroleum asphalt and fuel oils”, he says.

The second major influence on the industrial result came from Rio de Janeiro (3.2%). “In Rio de Janeiro's industry, there was also the influence of the petroleum derivatives sector, which was driven by the increase in the production of motor gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas and aviation kerosene. Another prominent sector is mining and quarrying, with the expansion of crude oil”.

The result of Amazonas, the third with the greatest impact on the national index, is related to the sector of other transportation equipment. “This activity was influenced by the increase in the production of motorcycles and their parts and accessories. Next, there is also the influence of the beverage sector, which is very active in the Amazonian industry”, highlights Mr. Almeida.

Maranhão, which was among the places investigated by the survey for the first time, had the second highest rate in absolute terms. “This double-digit positive rate was mainly influenced by the pulp, paper and paper products sector, which was impacted by the increase in the production of paste for pulp. This is a very active sector in the industry of the state”.

The other expansions came from Mato Grosso do Sul (4.5%), Goiás (3.5%) and Ceará (0.2%). Concerning the falls, Mato Grosso (-14.6%), Rio Grande do Norte (-10.5%) and Bahia (-10.3%) had the most significant results.

Rio Grande do Sul (-7.7%), Espírito Santo (-6.5%), Northeast Region (-5.3%), Santa Catarina (-4.9%), Pará (-4.6%) , Pernambuco (-2.8%), São Paulo (-2.1%) and Paraná (-0.4%) also decreased compared to January 2022.

More about the survey

Regional PIM has produced, since the 1970s, short-term indicators relating to the behavior of real output in mining and quarrying and manufacturing industries. It brings, monthly, indices for 17 states whose share is at least 0.5% in the total value of national industrial transformation, and also for the Northeast as a whole: Amazonas, Pará, Maranhão, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, Pernambuco, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Goiás and Northeast Region.

The survey results can also be consulted on the Sidra database of the IBGE.