In June 2008, the industrial production increased by 2.7% compared to May, in the series with seasonal adjustment.  In relation to June 2007, the expansion was 6.6%.  In the index accumulated in the first semester of 2008, the growth reached 6.3%.  The indexes for the second quarter of 2008 were positive, compared to the same period of 2007 (6.2%), as well as in relation to the immediately previous quarter (1.0%) – in the series with seasonal adjustment.   The index accumulated in the last twelve months (6.7%) equaled the result of May.

The increase of 2.7% observed in the total Industry, from May to June, was the major increase in this type of comparison since the value of 3.5% observed in October 2007, leading the level of production of the sector to reach a record level, 1.6% above the maximum point obtained in that month.  This growth had a generalized feature, reaching 23 segments and all the categories of use.  Among the sectors, the major positive contribution on the overall average came from automotive vehicles (9.8%), followed by office machines and computer equipment (14.2%); non-metallic minerals (5.8%); other chemical products (2.6%); and rubber and plastic (4.4%).  On the other hand, among the four activities with decrease, edition and printing (-4.5%) and food products (-0.6%) brought the most relevant negative results.

In the analysis by categories of use, also in the comparison with the previous month, the expansion in the production was stronger in the segments of capital goods (7.7%) and durable consumer goods (7.0%), which registered the highest increases since November 2003 (9.7%) and February 2006 (7.2%), respectively.  

The results of the other categories of use also were positive: intermediate goods (2.8%) and semi and non-durable consumer goods (1.2%), which reached the second consecutive expansion, accumulating in these two months gains of 3.5% and 2.5%, respectively. 

With the result of June, the quarterly moving average index increased by 0.8%, after being stable during the last two months.  Among the categories of use, durable consumer goods (1.2%), intermediate goods (1.2%) and capital goods (1.1%) brought the major increase between May and June.  The sector of semi and non-durable consumer goods (0.4%), only one with positive result in the previous month, brought a less intense gain in June. Also in the series with seasonal adjustment, in the comparison with the immediately previous quarter, the industrial production gained rhythm, changing from 0.6% (in the first quarter of the year compared to the fourth quarter of 2007) to 1.0% (in the second quarter), maintaining therefore a sequence of eleven quarters with positive rates, period in which it accumulated a gain of 13.7%.

In the comparison June 2008/ June 2007, the industry increased by 6.6%, 24th consecutive positive result in this type of index, with the majority (21) of the 27 surveyed segments bringing increase in the production.  It is worth mentioning that the production, in June 2008, had one more working day than in June 2007.  The sector of automotive vehicles (19.4%) continued as the industry with the major positive influence on the formation of the overall rate, followed by other transportation equipment (39.5%); basic metallurgy (8.3%); mining and quarrying (7.6%); rubber and plastic (11.4%) and non-metallic minerals (11.0%).  Stood out, among the five activities with decrease in the production, perfumery, soaps and cleaning products (-7.5%); tobacco (-9.1%) and footwear and leather articles (-10.2%).  In the indexes by categories of use, capital goods (20.3%) and durable consumer goods (15.2%) had the highest results, both with expansion considerably above the industrial average (6.6%). The production of intermediate goods (5.6%) reached a rate close to the industrial average, while semi and non-durable consumer goods (0.8%) had a more moderate performance, with all the sub-sectors registering decrease in the production, with the exception of food products and elaborated beverages for domestic use (4.9%).

In the analysis by quarters, it could be observed in the industrial sector, that while growing by 6.2% in the second quarter of 2008 compared to the second quarter of 2007, it sustained positive results for 19 consecutive quarters, and maintained the rhythm of growth observed in the first quarter of the year (6.3%).  Among the categories of use, capital goods, which changed from 16.6%, in the first quarter to 17.5%, in the second quarter and durable consumer goods (from 13.7% to 14.1%) had a slight gain of rhythm, and continued to lead the industrial expansion.  Semi and non-durable consumer goods (from 1.3% to 2.0%) also had acceleration between the two periods, although remaining with a performance below the industrial average.  The segment of intermediate goods, with major participation in the industrial structure, was the only one to decelerate between the two quarters, changing from 6.0% in the period January-March 2008 to 4.7% in the period April-June 2008.

Industrial production increased by 6.3% in the first semester

In the index accumulated of the first semester of the year, the overall rate of 6.3% resulted, mainly, from the predominance of positive rates in 21 surveyed activities, with the major contribution coming from automotive vehicles (18.4%), sector in which increase in the production was observed in approximately 90% of the 25 surveyed products.  In this comparison it is worth observing the performances of machines and equipment (9.4%); other transportation equipment (33.1%); basic metallurgy (7.6%); mining and quarrying (6.4%); other chemical products (5.4%); and rubber and plastic (9.0%).  In terms of products, the highlights in these industries were: automobiles, trucks; equipment elevators/ merchandise transporters, harvesting machines; airplanes, motorcycles; iron ores; herbicides, dyes and varnishes for construction; and flexible hoses, pipes and tubes, and plastic parts and accessories for the automobile industry.

The result of the first semester of 2008 confirmed the pattern of growth of the industry during this year, with the major dynamism coming from the producing sectors of capital goods (17.1%) and durable consumer goods (13.9%), both with a two-digit expansion.  In the first segment, all the sub-sectors brought positive rates, showing a generalized growth of investments, especially for capital goods for transportation (28.3%), for mixed use (7,6%), for electricity (14.3%), for industrial use (10,0%) and agriculture use (42.8%).  The category of durable consumer goods continued with a performance supported basically by the increase in the production of automobiles (20.9%), mobile telephones (28.5%) and motorcycles (24.6%), all answering to a strong domestic demand which, has been showing the maintenance of favorable credit conditions and the increase of the overall wages.

Below the rhythm of the overall industry (6.3%) increased the categories of intermediate goods (5.3%) and semi and non-durable consumer goods (1.7%). In the first sector stood out the positive performances of the sub-sectors of elaborated industrial inputs (5.4%) and parts and accessories for industrial transport equipment (11.8%).  In these sectors, stood out the major productions of herbicides, cellulose, cement, and carbon steel slugs, ingots and  blocks in the first sub-sector; and motors and chassis for trucks and buses, in the second one.  The group of inputs for construction, which accumulated increase of 9.9% in the first semester of the year, also contributed for a positive performance of this segment.  The industry of semi and non-durable consumer goods (1.7%), which had a more moderate growth among the categories of use in this first semester, was influenced positively by the increments in items of the sectors of food products (3.6%), pharmaceuticals (5.5%) and apparel (6.7%).  On the other hand, it was negatively influenced by the products of the segments of footwear and leather articles (-3.9%), perfumery, soaps and cleaning products (-3.1%), tobacco (-4.1%) and petroleum refining and alcohol production (-0.3%).