In relation to May 2004, there was expansion of 5.5% - resulting in a sequence of 21 months with positive rates. The indicator accumulated in the year changed from 4.5% to 4.7% from April to May; in the last twelve months, however, the indicator has shown slight deceleration (7.5% in April versus 7.2% in May).

May results reinforce the signs of recovery of the industrial activity. The positive evolution of the quarterly moving average, which had only been observed in the subsector of durable consuner goods so far, has been noticeable, since May, in the general industry and in other categories of use (intermediate goods, capital goods and semi-durable and non-durable consumer goods).

These results indicate that, besides the contribution from external sales (typical of exporting subsectors), the maintenance of credit conditions and the entry of workers to higher occupational levels, together with a reduction in inflation, cause the reaction of subsectors which are predominantly dependent on the evolution of the internal demand. 

Most activities and categories of use present growth above average

The increased speed of industrial production reached most of (15) the twenty three activities based on sesonally adjusted series, besides all the four categories of use. 

It is worth mentioning the positive results registered for petroleum refinement and alcoho, production (7.6%), electronic material and communication equipment (5.3%), tobacco (14.9%), machinery and equipment (1.8%), beverages (3.8%) and quarrying industry (2.0%). The most relevant negative contributions came from food products (-3,8%), metallurgy (-4.2%) and perfumery, soaps and cleaning products (-6.0%).

Among the categories of use, in the comparison May/April, durable consumer goods had the most rapid growth (3.7%), followed by capital goods (3.4%). Intermediate goods (0.8%) and semi-durable and non-durable consumer goods (0.6%), on the other hand, presented growth below average (1.3%).

The positive performance of the industrial activity in May influenced the quarterly moving average. For the general industry, the increase observed in this indicator in the quarters ended in April and May was 0.9%. The subsector of capital goods presented the highest increment (1.4%), followed by durable consumer goods (1.1%), intermediate goods (0.9%) and semi-durable and non-durable consumer goods (0.1%).

Similarly to what occurred in the comparison with the previous month, the growth of industrial production by 5.5%, in relation to May 2004 reflects a generalized positive trend.

There was expansion in 23 of the 27 subsectors surveyed and the major impacts came from: electronic material and communication equipment (28.3%), quarrying industry (17.4%), automotive vehicles (8.9%) and petroleum refinement and alcohol production (10.4%). In these groups, the products which most influenced the results were, respectively, mobile telephones and television sets, petroleum and iron ore, automobiles and trucks, gasoline and alcohol. On the other hand, among the four activities which registered fall, the negative contribution of metallurgy (-6.9%) was the most relevant to the general indicator.

Among the categories of use, that of durable consumer goods had the highest growth (21.4%), supported by the increase in the manufacturing of automobiles (17.4%), electric appliances (8.2%) and mobile telephones (82.2%). The manufacturing of semi-durable and non-durable consumer goods surpassed by 7.5% that of May 2004, and was stimulated by the positive performance of all the subsectors, especially fuels (34.4%), with the rise of gasoline and alcohol. It is still worth mentioning the results for the subsector of other non-durable goods (7.1%), with medicines and magazines as its highlights.

The subsector of capital goods (3.5%), also prsented predominantly positive results: capital goods for construction (25.1%), for electric energy (14.1%), transportation (8.8%), machinery and equipment for industrial purposes and (4.0%) and capital goods for mixed use (5.8%). Only agricultural capital goods (-47.3%) kept a sequence of falls for nine consecutive months.

The production of intermediate goods grew by 2.7% in relation to May 2004, especially due to the influence of the subsector of basic industrial inputs (10.3%), with special focus on the items iron ore and tobacco. Positive performances were registered in the subsector of fuels and simple lubricant oils (22.2%), reflecting the increase in the extraction of petroleum. The groups of construction inputs and packaging (2.5%) and (2,0%),respectively, registered their second consecutive growth rate in this type of comparison.

The growth of 4.7% accumulated from January to May this year,versus the same period in 2004, was observed in a wide range of subsectors. Among those, the leadership remained with automotive vehicles (11.5%), being worth mentioning the contributions from electronic material and communication equipment (17.3%), quarrying industry (9.4%) and editing and printing (10.6%). On the other hand, metallurgy (-1.7%) represented the main negative contribution.

The analysis of the accumulated indicator in the first five months this year for the categories of use shows that of durable consumer goods (15.2%) presents the highest rate, being followed by semi-durable and non-durable consumer goods (6.5%). The subsector of capital goods grew by 2.7%, and that of intermediate goods grew by 2.2%, a figure below the overall average (4.7%).