In August 2015, in the seasonally adjusted series, the industrial output in Brazil declined 1.2% over the previous month, the third consecutive negative figure, accumulating a 3.4% loss in this period. In series without seasonal adjustment, in the comparison with same month a year ago, the industry contracted 9.0% in August 2015, the 18th consecutive negative rate. Thus, the industrial sector recorded a cumulative reduction of 6.9% in the eight months of 2015. Having declined 5.7% in August 2015, the annualized rate - cumulative indicator in the last 12 months - recorded a sharper drop than that reported last July (-5.4%) and kept the downward trend started in March 2014 (2.1%).
The complete publication of the survey can be accessed aqui.

In August, 14 out of 24 sectors surveyed had output decrease

The drop of 1.2% in the industrial activity between July and August reached three out of the four major economic categories and 14 out of the 24 segments surveyed. Among the sectors, the main negative influence was recorded by motor vehicles, trailers and bodies, which shrank 9.4%, offsetting, thus, the expansion of 1.9% observed in the previous month, when it interrupted nine consecutive months of output decrease - a period when it accumulated a loss of 27.0%. Other relevant negative contributions to the national overall came from the activities coke, petroleum products and biofuels (-1.6%), fabricated metal products (-3.0%), basic metals (-1.3%), leather products, traveling items and footwear (-3.6%), electrical machinery and apparatus (-2.5%), other transportation equipment (-3.4%) and of non-metallic mineral products (-1.5%).

On the other hand, among the nine sectors that increased the output this month, the most important performance to the overall average was registered by food products, which advanced 2.4%, and recovered, therefore, part of the cumulative loss of 5.4% reported last July. Other relevant positive impacts were seen in the sectors of beverages (4.3%), of mining and quarrying industries (0.6%) and of wood products (5.1%), with the first offsetting part of the drop of 6.1% recorded in the previous month; the second interrupting three months of negative rates in a row. In this period, it accumulated a loss of 2.6%; the third returning part of the drop of 7.3% of July.

Among the major economic categories, still compared with the previous month, capital goods, shrinking 7.6%, and durable consumer goods (-4.0%) recorded the steepest drops in August 2015, influenced to a greater extent, by the lower production of trucks, in the first category; cars and household appliances, in the second, coupled with the granting of collective vacation in several producing units. With August's result, the first segment registered the sharpest decrease since December 2014 (-15.4%) and accumulated a loss of 25.3% in the last seven months of negative rates in a row; the second eliminated part of the advance of 9.4% seen in the previous month, when it interrupted nine months in a row of output decrease. In this period, it accumulated a reduction of 26.0%. The sector of semi- and non-durable consumer goods (-0,3%) also recorded a negative rate in August 2015, after decreasing 3.4% in the previous month. On the other hand, the segment of intermediate goods, advancing 0.2%, showed the only positive result this month, interrupting six months of drops in a row. In this period, it accumulated a loss of 4.0%.

Quarterly moving average declines 1.2% in quarter ended in August

Still concerning the seasonally-adjusted series, the evolution of the quarterly moving average index for the overall industry declined 1.2% in the quarter ended in August 2015, against the level of the previous month, keeping the downward trend started in September 2014. Among the major economic categories, still in relation to this index on margin, capital goods (-4.8%) and durable consumer goods (-1.9%) posted the most intense reductions this month, with the first one accumulating a 17.0% loss in the last five months; the second one maintaining the negative behavior seen since December 2014. The sectors producing intermediate goods (-0.6%) and semi- and non-durable consumer goods (-0.5%) also registered negative rates this month. The first sector kept the downward trend started in September last year; the second stepped up the magnitude of the drop against latest July's result (-0.1%).

Industry contracts 9.0% in comparison with August 2014

Compared with August 2014, the industrial sector showed a drop of 9.0%, in August 2015, pointing to a widespread profile of negative figures and reaching the four major economic categories, 23 out of the 26 sectors, 63 out of the 79 groups and 71.9% of the 805 products surveyed. Among the activities, motor vehicles, trailers and bodies, which decreased 26.2%, exerted the highest negative influence on the industry average, pressed by the reduced manufacturing of trucks, cars, tractor trucks for trailers and semi-trailers, vehicles for transportation of goods, trailers and semi-trailers, bodies and chassis for buses, trucks and car pieces. Other important negative contributions to the total national production came from coke, petroleum products and biofuels (-8.7%), machinery and equipment
(-15.3%), computer, electronic and optical products (-30.3%), fabricated metal products (-15.7%),  electrical machinery and apparatus (-18.7%), food products (-2.7%), other chemicals  (-7.4%), basic metals (-7.3%), rubber products and plastic material (-10.1%), non-metallic mineral products (-9.2%), textiles (-20.7%), printing and reproduction of recorded media (-26.2%) and furniture (-19.6%).

On the other hand, in the comparison with August 2014, among the three activities which increased the production, the main impact was caused by mining and quarrying industries (2.9%), leveraged, to a large extent, by the advances in pelletized iron ore and crude petroleum oil.

Still comparing with the same month a year ago, capital goods (-33.2%) and durable consumer goods (-14.6%) registered, in August 2015, the steepest decline among the major economic categories. The sectors producing semi- and non-durable consumer goods (-7.6%) and intermediate goods (-5.5%) also recorded negative rates this month, yet both with decrease below the national average (-9.0%).

The sector capital goods, decreasing 33.2% in the monthly index in August 2015, recorded the eighteenth negative consecutive rate and sharpest one since the beginning of the time series in this kind of comparison. In the formation of the index this month, the segment was influenced by the drops seen in all the groups, with a clear highlight to the reduction of 39.1% in capital goods for transportation equipment, especially pushed by the lower manufacture of trucks, tractor-trucks for trailers and semi-trailers, vehicles for the transportation of goods, trailers and semi-trailers, ships, buses, railcars for the transportation of goods. The other negative rates were registered by capital goods for mixed use (-35.1%), for construction (-56.8%), for agriculture (-32.4%), for electricity (-19.7%) and for industrial purposes (-2.3%).

The segment of durable consumer goods fell 14.6% in the monthly index of August 2015, the 18th negative rate in a row in this kind of comparison and sharper than that of last July (-13.7%). This month the sector was pressed by the reduced manufacturing of cars (-12.0%), 'white goods' (-21.7%), 'brown goods' (-17.7%), influenced, to a great extent, by the reduced shifts and collective vacations in a number of producing units. Other important negative impacts came from motorcycles (-12.7%), furniture (-18.2%) and other household appliances (-8.1%).

The output reduction of semi- and non-durable consumer goods (-7.6%), in August 2015, was the tenth consecutive negative result in the comparison with the same month a year ago, but it slowed down the pace of decline in relation to the one seen last July (-9,2%). The performance this month was explained by the retractions reported by all its groups: semi-durable (-11.7%), fuels (-11.8%), food and beverages for domestic consumption (-4.4%) and non-durable goods (-7.0%). In these subsectors, the main negative impacts were exerted by the items cell phones, pants, women’s leather footwear, CDs, DVDs, synthetic sneakers - mounted, women's shirts, blouses and the like, linen (bedspreads, blankets, sheets and etc.), in the first; motor gasoline and ethyl alcohol, in the second; concentrated orange juice, refined cane sugar, fresh or cooled beef, candy bars and chocolates, soft drinks, ground roasted coffee, powder chocolate milk, in the third; and medicine, books, brochures or printed material on demand and magazines (printed on demand), in the last one.

The production of intermediate goods, declining 5.5% in August 2015, registered the seventeenth consecutive negative rate with a pace of decline near the one seen in the previous month (-5.6%). This month's result was mainly explained by the declines in the products associated with the activities of motor vehicles, trailers and bodies (-20.0%), coke, petroleum products and biofuels (-7.2%), fabricated metal products (-17.9%), other chemicals (-7.5%), basic metals (-7.3%), plastic and rubber products (-10.0%), non-metallic mineral products (-9.0%), textiles (-20.1%) and food products (-0.2%), whereas the positive pressures were registered by mining and quarrying industries (2.9%), machinery and equipment (10.3%) and pulp, paper and paper products (1.9%). In that same category, it is worth mentioning the decrease in the groups of input for civil construction
(-15.2%), which recorded the eighteenth consecutive negative rate and the sharpest one since the beginning of the time series, and of packaging (-6.2%), which intensified the drop of 3,4% registered in the previous month.

Industrial output declines 6.9% in the cumulative index in the year

In the cumulative index for the January-August period of 2015, over the same period in the previous year, the industrial sector dropped 6.9%. Negative rates prevailed, since the four major economic categories, 24 out of the 26 sectors, 68 out of the 79 groups and 72.4% out of the 805 products surveyed declined their production. Among the sectors, the main negative impact was reported by motor vehicles, trailers and bodies (-21.0%), pressed, to a great extent, by the reduced manufacturing of about 92% of the products investigated in this activity. The highlights were the drops seen in cars, trucks and tractor trucks for trailers and semi-trailers, car parts, trailers and semi-trailers, vehicles for the transportation of goods and bodies for trucks and buses.

Other relevant negative contributions to the national overall came from the sectors of computer, electronic and optical products (-29.6%), coke, petroleum products and biofuels (-6.5%), machinery and equipment (-11.8%), food products (-3.7%), basic metals (-7.5%), pharmachemicals and pharmaceuticals (-14.4%), fabricated metal products (-9.6%), rubber and plastic products (-7.0%),  other chemicals (-4.1%), electrical machinery and apparatus (-8.6%),wearing apparel and accessories (-9.8%), beverages (-6.7%) and  non-metallic mineral products (-5.8%).

On the other hand, among the two activities that increased production, the main impact was seen in mining and quarrying industries (7.7%), leveraged to a great extent by the items iron ore pellets and crude petroleum oil.

Among the major economic categories, the behavior of the results of the first eight months of 2015 showed lower dynamism for capital goods (-22.4%) and durable consumer goods (-14.2%), particularly pressed by the reduction in the manufacture of capital goods for transportation equipment (-28.2%), in the first category, and of cars (-12.9%) and household appliances (-22.2%), in the second one. The segments of semi and non-durable consumer goods (-7.2%) and intermediate goods (-3.7%) also registered negative rates in the cumulative index in the year. The former segment still declining above the magnitude of the drop of the national average (-6.9%), and the latter recording the most moderate decline among the major economic categories.