Between April and May, the Brazilian industrial output advanced 0.3%, with a growth in ten out of 15 places surveyed by the Monthly Survey of Industry (Regional PIM). The highest rises were registered in Amazonas (12.8%), Pernambuco (5.6%) and Paraná (5.3%). Compared with May 2022, industry grew 1.9% and positive rates were reported in 12 out of 18 places surveyed. In the cumulative index in 12 months the change was null (0.0%), with ten out of 15 places surveyed showing negative figures. The data were released today (13) by the IBGE.

In April, the results of Regional PIM were released for the first time with the updating in the selection of samples of enterprises, local units and product list, besides the addition of three new places: Rio Grande do Norte, Maranhão and Mato Grosso do Sul, adding up to 18 places.

The highlight in May was the growth in industry in Amazonas (12.8%), with the highest rate since December 2021 (13.7%) and after a drop of 15.7% recorded in April. It was the second biggest influence on the national result, losing only to São Paulo. “The good performance of industry in Amazonas in May is due to some very important sectors for the industrial activity in the state, like computer equipment, electronic and optical products, transportation equipment and beverages,” explains Bernardo Almeida, an analyst of Regional PIM.  He reminds that the result this month partially offsets the loss that industry in Amazonas had in April.

Pernambuco ranked in the second position of the expansion of industrial output, hitting 5.6%. “The sectors of motor vehicles and of electrical machinery and apparatus were the major reasons of the result,” adds Almeida. The performance of industry in Pernambuco in May offset the loss registered in the previous month, which was of 3.3%.

It was followed by Paraná (5.3%), which recovered after a cumulative loss in the two previous months (-3.1%), also in the third position in terms of influence. The industrial output in Paraná benefited from the performance of the sectors of motor vehicles, food and pulp. It is the best result of industry in the state since December 2022 (9.9%).  

As the largest industrial park in Brazil, São Paulo grew 2.9% between April and May. It is the third consecutive positive rate of industry in São Paulo, accumulating a gain of 3.6%. “In the case of São Paulo, the sectors of petroleum products, food, concerning the production of sugar, and motor vehicles stood out. With the growth of 2.9%, the state manages to be 0.6% above the pre-pandemic level (February 2020). Even so, São Paulo is 21.8% below the peak of the industrial output, reached in March 2011.

On the dropping side, Santa Catarina (-2.7%), Bahia (-2.4%) and Rio de Janeiro (-1.5%) recorded the most significant negative rates. “The retreat in Rio de Janeiro, the second in a row, producing a cumulative loss of 3.3%, had the sectors of petroleum products and pharmaceuticals as the major factors. In Santa Catarina, the sector of basic metals was key to offset the gain of 0.9% obtained in April. After the cumulative gain of 11.7% in the previous three months in Bahia, the segments of petroleum products and basic metals were the major reasons for the retraction,” highlights Almeida.

Industry advances in 12 of 18 places in the inter-annual comparison

The industrial sector grew 1.9% over May last year and, in regional terms, 12 out of 18 places surveyed followed the positive result. It is worth mentioning that May 2023 (22 days) had the same number of business days as the same month a year ago (22). The most intense advances were in Pará (29.6%), Amazonas (7.6%), Pernambuco (6.3%), Mato Grosso (5.3%), Minas Gerais (5.2%), Paraná (5.0%), Mato Grosso do Sul (4.5%), Rio Grande do Norte (4.2%), Rio de Janeiro (2.9%) and São Paulo (2.6%).

The steep advance reported in Pará was caused not only by the low comparison basis, since it retreated 20.9% in May 2022, but also by the growth of 36.6% in mining and quarrying industries (iron, manganese and copper ores, either crude or processed). 

Espírito Santo (1.3%) and Goiás (0.2%) completed the list of states that rose their output in the May´s index.

In contrast, Maranhão (-9.6%) and Ceará (-8.1%) registered the most significant drops. The industrial output in Maranhão suffered effects from the negative behavior of the sectors of basic metals (aluminum oxide) and of mining and quarrying (pelletized or sintered iron ore and natural gas).

In Ceará, the major responsible for the negative figure were manufacture of wearing apparel and accessories (children´s wearing apparel and its accessories, panties, shirts, men´s blouses and the like, trousers, bras, dresses and breeches, dungarees, shorts, pants and the like), chemicals (herbicides and insecticides for agricultural use) and fabricated metal products (corks, caps or metallic capsules and aluminum cans for packaging).

Santa Catarina (-4.4%), Bahia (-3.3%), Northeast Region (-2.7%) and Rio Grande do Sul (-0.4%) were the other places that retreated in this comparison.

More about the survey

The Regional PIM has been producing short-term indicators since the 1970s regarding the behavior of the real product from mining and quarrying and manufacturing industries. It presents, every month, indexes for 17 Federation Units, each one accounting for at least 0.5% of the national value of manufacturing, and also for the Northeast Region 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 the Northeast Region.

The survey results can also be consulted on Sidra, the IBGE´s database. The next release of Regional PIM is scheduled for August 8.