From June to July, according to the IBGE survey, industrial production grew by 0.6%, not considering seasonal influences. In relation to July 2005, the increase was 3.2%. There was also 2.7% increase of the rate accumulated in the period January-July, in comparison with the same period as in the previous year, and 2.2% increase of the indicator relative to the last 12 months.

From June to July, there was growth in 17 of the 23 subsectors surveyed 

With the 0.6% growth observed in the total of industry between June and July, after fall of 1.3%, the level of production of the sector was 0.8%, that is, below the record figure reached last year. Considering the 23 subsectors which have seasonally adjusted series, 17 grew from June to July. Among those which determined the general positive behavior, two subsectors stand out. The first one is mining and quarrying industry (5.2%), reflecting the increase of petroleum extraction in July, after a temporary interruption for platform maintenance in June. The second subsector was metallurgy (4.2%), which had grown for five consecutive months, but last month reflected the restart of the operation of a big melting pot. Other important subsectors contributing positively to the results were: automotive vehicles (2.0%), other chemical products (2.9%) and beverages (4.4%). On the other hand, the main negative influences were petroleum refining and alcohol production (-3.4%) and pharmaceutical articles (-5.0%). It is worth pointing out that the activity of production of petroleum derivatives and alcohol has grown for three months, and, in June,  it reached its highest level since December 2004.

Still in the comparison with the previous month, the segments of capital goods and intermediate goods reached their highest rates among all the categories of use (both with 1.0%), after retroegression of 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively.  The production of durable goods was the only one in decrease from June to July (-0.2%), representing the third consecutive negative result, in a period in which it accumulates loss of 1.9%. The segment of semi-durable and non-durable consumer goods, with growth of 0.4%, had a similar performance to the overall average for the industry, after fall of 0.9% in June.

Monthly indicator reflects expansion of 20 among 27 subsectors surveyed

In the comparison July 06/ July 05, production grew by 3.2%, with expansion of 20 of the 27 subsectors surveyed. The major positive impacts over the overall index, in order of importance, came from food products (6.1%); office machines and computer equipment (49.3%); metallurgy (10.0%); electric machines, appliances and electric material (16.3%); mining and quarrying industry (6.6%); beverages (12.8%) and automotive vehicles (3.7%). The main items accounting for this favorable performance were, respectively, crystallized sugar and orange juice; computers and monitors; steel square bars; transformers; iron ore; soft drinks and beers; and cars and tractors. The most relevant negative pressures were those of chemical products (-5.05%) and electronic material and computer equipment (-9.9%), influenced, respectively, by the reduced prodcution of herbicides and of mobile telephones.

Still in comparison with July 2005, the indexes by category of use show the leadership of capital goods (8.4%), with more acceleration than the average of industry (3.2%). This performance is supported by the subsectors of capital goods for transportation (7.6%), for mixed use (6.9%), for industrial uses (9.1%), for electric energy (34.7%) and for construction (9.4%). The prodcution of capital goods for agriculture (-27.5%) has been in decrease for 23 months. The category of semi-durable and non-durable consumer goods (3.3%) had the third positive consecutive result in this comparison, with the subsector of food products and beverages for domestic use (5.6%) as the main highlights, especially because of the big production of soft drinks and concentrated orange juice. It is worth mentioning the positive rates of the subsectors of fuels (7.4%) and other non-durable products (2.6%). The subsector of semi-durable products was the only one to decrease (-6.2%).

After fall of 0.5% in June, the production of intermediate goods (3.2%)  grew again and presented a similar rhythm to that of the average of industry. Almost all their segments had increase, being the main highlight the group of complex industrial inputs (2.8%), followed by basic industrial inputs (13.3%) and food products and beverages for industry (12.6%). It is worth mentioning the behavior of the group inputs for construction (7.5%), which presented its third consecutive positive result. On the other hand, the negative pressure was concentrated in the subsector of complex fuels and lubricants (-5.9%), especially because of the fall of diesel. With a growth rate below the average of industry, durable consumer goods (1.2%), kept the negative results for the reduction of the production of mobile telephones (-12.4%). Nevertheless, there was expansion of the subsector of cars (3.2%0 and household appliances (4.7%), especially those of the “white line” type (for example, refrigerators, freezers, etc).

Indicator accumulated in the year increases in 21 subsectors

Considering the indicator accumulated in the period January-July, in comparison with the same period in 2005, the growth (2.7%) reflects the expansion of 21 subsectors. The manufacturing of office machines and computer equipment (56.8%) remains as the leader in terms of influence on the overall index, with the highlights being the items personal computers and monitors. Other relevant positive contributions came from mining and quarrying industry (8.1%), especially due to the increased production of iron ore and petroleum, and of the subsector of electric machines, appliances and material (14.3%), mainly due to the item transformers. On the other hand, there was fall in six activities: other chemical products (-3.5%), wood (-8.7%) and apparel (-7.4%).

By category of use, still considering the indicator accumulated in the year, the profile of growth throughout 2006 confirms the dynamism observed in the production of goods: durable consumer goods (6.6%), capital goods (5.5%) and semi-durable and non-durable consumer goods (2.8%) expanded at a faster rhythm than that of the overall average (2.7%). On the other hand, the production of intermediate goods (1.9%) shows a more moderate performance, at the same time that, according to data from FUNCEX, the volume (quantum) of imports of intermediate goods reaches 13.0% of growth in the first seven months of 2006.

In summary, the expansion of industrial production (0.6%) in July, compared to the previous month, causes the quarterly moving average index to remain on a slight upward trend. Since last April this index has had slight increase in comparison with the previous year, having accumulated rate of 0.8% in the last four months. According to the same comparison, in the analysis by category of use, the sector of intermediate goods shows expansion by 1.4%, being the only category with acceleration over that of the average of industry. Capital goods (0.6%) and semi-durable and non-durable consumer goods (0.4%) also had positive results in this type of comparison, whereas durable consumer goods (-2.1%) faced deceleration.