The negative result (-2.1%) in the national industrial activity between March and April...

The negative result (-2.1%) in the national industrial activity between March and April, in the seasonally adjusted series, was observed in nine of the 14 places surveyed. Ceará (-6.9%), Goiás (-5.1%), São Paulo (-3.8%) and Santa Catarina (-2.6%) registered the sharpest declines, above the overall average.-

Pernambuco (-2.0%), Paraná (-1.9%), Northeast region (-1.7%), Rio Grande do Sul (-1.5%) and Minas Gerais (-1.1%) completed the group of places with negative rates. Among those that increased the production, the highest advances were from Pará (8.4%), recovering part of the loss of 13.1% observed in the last three months, and Amazonas (5.8%), after contracting by 8.8% last March. The other positive results were recorded by Rio de Janeiro (2.5%), Espírito Santo (1.8%) and Bahia (0.4%).

The complete publication of this survey can be accessed at www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/indicadores/industria/pimpfregional/.

In the comparison with April of 2010, eight of the 14 places recorded a decline in production, influenced not only by the slower pace of the industrial activity in this month, but also by the calendar effect, as April of 2011 had one trading day less than the same month a year ago.

The sharpest declines were observed in Ceará (-16.2%), pressured by a maintenance shutdown in the sector of petroleum refinement and alcohol production and by the lower production in the sectors of food and footwear and leather articles, and in Goiás (-11.1%), due to the contraction across all the sectors surveyed in the state. The other negative rates were recorded in Santa Catarina (-7.7%), Pernambuco (-7.4%), Northeast region (-6.3%), Bahia (-4.1%), São Paulo (-2.3%) and Minas Gerais (-1.7%). Among the places that recorded a rise in production, Espírito Santo (14.2%) and Rio de Janeiro (7.3%) recorded the highest results, followed by Amazonas (1.9%), Paraná (1.4%), Rio Grande do Sul (0.6%) and Pará (0.1%).

At the end of the first quarter of 2011, the national industry advanced 1.6% against the same period a year ago, with six of the 14 places registering a growth in production. The positive results were observed in Espírito Santo (12.0%), the only one with an expansion of two digits, Rio de Janeiro (3.9%), Paraná (3.8%), Minas Gerais (3.0%), São Paulo (2.4%) and Rio Grande do Sul (1.4%). The positive performance of those places was mainly attributable to a more significant presence of sectors related to capital goods (for transportation, construction and industrial purposes) and durable consumer goods (motor vehicles, motorcycles and cell phones), as well as advances in the mining and quarrying, pharmaceutical and basic metal sectors. Conversely, eight places recorded a contraction in output. The negative highlights were Ceará (-9.5%), Bahia (-7.9%), Northeast region (-6.2%), Pernambuco (-5.5%) and Goiás (-4.0%), which registered the sharpest declines, whereas Santa Catarina (-1.7%), Pará (-1.6%) and Amazonas (-1.4%) recorded more moderate reductions.

In the evolution of the four-month indexes, the industrial sector recorded a reduction in its productive pace between the last four months of last year (4.1%) and the first four months of 2011 (1.6%), both comparisons against the same period a year ago. In the regional indicators that behavior was observed in 12 of the 14 places surveyed. The negative highlights were Goiás, which changed from 15.2% in the last four months of 2010 to –4.0% in the first four months this year, Pará (from 11.1% to –1.6%), Pernambuco (from 2.3% to –5.5%) and Ceará (from –2.4% to –9.5%).

In the accumulated index of the last twelve months, all places recorded positive rates in April except for Bahia, which registered a negative change of 0.5%. Between March and April, the national industry changed from 6.9% to 5.4%, a loss of 1.5 percentage points. That movement was also followed by 13 of the 14 places surveyed. The negative highlights were Goiás (from 10.4% to 7.4%), Ceará (from 3.5% to 0.9%), Amazonas (from 8.0% to 5.8%), Pernambuco (from 4.8% to 2.7%) and Minas Gerais (from 10.4% to 8.3%).