Compared with April, industrial production changed by -0.2% in May, the first negative result after four consecutive months of increases. With this result, industry is 4.5% above the pre-pandemic level (February 2020), but still 13.0% below the record level reached in May 2011.

The data comes from the Monthly Survey of Industry (PIM), released today (3), by the IBGE.

Among the activities, in comparison with April, the most intense negative influences came from coke, petroleum products and biofuels (-6.1%) and mining and quarrying industries (-2.6%).

“Both activities interrupted five consecutive months of expansion in production, a period in which they accumulated gains of 17.1% and 7.4%, respectively,” says the survey manager, André Macedo. He also states that ethyl alcohol and gasoline exerted the greatest negative pressure on petroleum derivatives, while iron ore, crude petroleum oil and natural gas led to the retreat of the mining and quarrying industry.

Among the activities with advances in production, pharmochemicals and pharmaceuticals (13.1%), motor vehicles, trailers and bodies (4.1%) and chemicals (3.1%) exerted the main influences. “The pharmaceutical industry interrupted four consecutive months of decline, while the car sector marks its fifth consecutive month of growth, driven by a greater production of cars, trucks and car pieces. Chemicals, on the other hand, offset the 2.8% decline recorded in April,” analyzes the survey manager.

Other positive impacts came from the basic metals (2.3%), manufacture of wearing apparel and accessories (4.7%), other transportation equipment (4.7%), electrical machinery and apparatus (2.6%) and machinery and equipment (1.2%) sectors.

Among the broad economic categories, still in comparison with April, semi and non-durable consumer goods (-1.3%) had the biggest decline and stepped up the negative result of April (-0.3%). Intermediate goods (-0.4%) and capital goods (-0.2%) also recorded negative rates. While durable consumer goods (3.6%) were the only positive result, offsetting the 3.1% decline in April, when three consecutive months of expansion were interrupted.

Industrial production changes 0.2% compared to May 2025

In comparison with the same month of the previous year, industry changed 0.2% in May 2026, with positive results in two out of four broad economic categories, 8 out of 25 sectors, 27 out of 80 groups and 39.0% of the 789 products surveyed.

The activities that exerted the main positive influences were coke, petroleum products and biofuels (5.7%), mining and quarrying industries (3.1%), motor vehicles, trailers and bodies (7.3%) and pharmochemicals and pharmaceuticals (13.2%), driven, mainly, by the greater production of the items diesel fuel, ethyl alcohol, aviation kerosene and naphtha, in the first one; crude petroleum oil and natural gas, in the second one; automobiles, car pieces and vehicles for transporting goods, in the third one; and medicines, in the fourth one.

Among the activities that declined, food products (-3.7%) and machinery and equipment (-9.5%) exerted the biggest influences. Also noteworthy are the negative impacts of the sectors of computer equipment, electronic and optical products (-8.7%), fabricated metal products (-4.0%), pulp, paper and paper products (-2.7%), leather goods, travel articles and footwear (-7.1%), textiles (-5.6%), manufacture of wearing apparel and accessories (-4.3%) and beverages (-2.6%).

Still in comparison with the same month of the previous year, durable consumer goods (1.5%) and intermediate goods (1.4%) recorded positive results among the broad economic categories. Consumer goods semi and non-durable goods (-1.1%) and capital goods (-6.7%) registered negative rates.

Cumulative index in the year grows 1.4%

In the cumulative index in the year, compared to the same period last year, industry advanced 1.4%, with positive results in three out of four broad economic categories, eight out of 25 sectors, 28 out of 80 groups and 42.1% of the 789 products surveyed.

In terms of activities, the main positive influences were mining and quarrying industries (7.9%) and coke, petroleum products and biofuels (5.1%), driven, to a large extent, by the greater production of the items crude petroleum oil, pelletized or sintered iron ore and natural gas, in the first one; and ethyl alcohol, diesel fuel, aviation kerosene, naphtha and fuel oils, in the second one. It is also worth highlighting the positive contributions made by the sectors of pharmochemicals and pharmaceuticals (11.5%), motor vehicles, trailers and bodies (3.2%) and food products (1.3%).

Among the broad economic categories, the profile of results for the first five months of 2026 showed greater dynamism for intermediate goods (2.1%) and semi and non-durable consumer goods (1.5%). Durable consumer goods (0.6%) also recorded a positive result. Capital goods (-6.2%) recorded the only negative rate, pressured, to a large extent, by the lower manufacturing of capital goods for mixed use (-15.7%), for agriculture (-16.9%) and for industrial purposes (-4.5%).

Learn more about the survey

PIM Brazil has been producing short-term indicators since the 1970s regarding the behavior of the real product of the mining and quarrying and manufacturing industries. March 2023 marked the beginning of the release of the new time series of monthly indexes of the industrial production, after a redesign to update the sample of activities, products and informants; create a new weighting structure of the indexes based on the most recent industrial statistics; update the base year of reference of the survey; and incorporate new Federation Units in the release of regional results of the survey. These methodological changes are required and they aim at incorporating the economic changes of the society.

The survey results can also be consulted on Sidra. The next release of PIM Brazil, referring to June 2026, will be on August 4th.

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