Domestic industry
Industrial production grows 3.2% in August, fourth consecutive increase
October 02, 2020 09h00 AM | Last Updated: October 02, 2020 11h38 AM
Photo: Rodrigo Felix Leal/AEN-PR
The production of the national industry grew for the fourth consecutive month and registered an increase of 3.2% in August, in comparison with July. Even so, the sector has not yet recovered the 27% losses of March and April, when the industry reached the lowest level of the series, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Year-to-date, production decreased 8.6%.
Data are from the Monthly Survey of Industry (PIM), released today (2) by the IBGE, which also shows that, in the comparison with August 2019, the industry fell 2.7%. This is the 10th negative result in a row in this comparison. In the last 12 months, the drop is 5.7%.
For survey manager André Macedo, August result shows that the national industry continues to recover after the strict measures to prevent the spread of the pandemic. “The industrial sector has maintained a certain positive behavior in recent months. It is a very consistent and widespread advance among the categories, but there is still a part to be recovered”, he analyzes.
Mr. Macedo explains that the impact of the need for social isolation was great, as it affected production in several units in the country, which were closed or had their activities suspended during this period. The industrial sector is 2.6% below the level of February, the pre-pandemic period.
All major categories grow; cars still drive strong influence
The survey shows that all major categories advanced in August compared to July. Durable consumer goods showed the highest growth: 18.5%. It is also the fourth consecutive month of expansion in production, with a cumulative result of 524.2% in this period. The segment, however, is still 3% below the February level.
Capital goods (2.4%), Intermediate goods (2.3%) and Semi- and non-durable consumer goods (0.6%) also grew in August, but below the industry average. All of them also increased for the fourth consecutive month and accumulated gains of 76.4%, 25.2% and 25.0%, respectively.
Among the surveyed branches, 16 of the 26 showed an increase. The most influential activity was Motor vehicles, trailers and bodies, which grew 19.2%. In the last four months, the sector has accumulated an expansion of 901.6%, but is still 22.4% below the level of February.
"The production of vehicles has an impact not only within the category of durable consumer goods, but in the industrial sector as a whole, because it influences the manufacture of auto parts, trucks and cars in general," says Macedo.
The coke, petroleum products and biofuels also had an influence on the industry's result, from July to August, with an increase of 3.9% and Mining and Quarrying industries, which grew 2.6%. Other activities that helped in the general performance were rubber and plastic products (5.8%), leather, travel goods and footwear (14.9%), Non-metallic mineral products (4.9%), food products (1.0%), apparel and accessories (11.5%), basic metals (3.2%), textiles (9.1%) and metal products (3.1%), which repeated the positive performance of July.
On the other hand, among the ten branches that showed a reduction in production, pharmaceuticals (-9.7%), toiletries, soaps, cleaning and personal hygiene products (-9.7%), Other chemical products (- 1.8%) and beverages (-2.5%) were the main contributors to the negative impacts.
With regard to the quarterly moving average, there was an increase of 6.9% in the quarter ended in August 2020. For the quarter ended in July, the increase was 8.9%, when it interrupted the predominantly downward trend started in November of 2019.
