In April 2010, industrial production decreased 0.7% in relation to March, in the seasonally adjusted series, after having accumulated an increase of 6.4% in the last four months of growth. Regarding April 2009, industry recorded an expansion of 17.4%, the fifth consecutive two-digit positive rate in this kind of comparison. The indicator accumulated in the first four-month period was 18.0%, and the accumulated in the last 12 months, on an upward trend initiated in October of last year, increased from -0.3% in March to 2.3% in April , marking the first positive index since January 2009 (1.0%). 

The negative result (-0.7%) of industrial activity, from March to April, had 12 subsectors with decrease, one with no growth and 14 with production expansion. Among those with decrease, the main negative impacts came from beverages (-11.0%), cellulose and paper (-6.1%), other chemical products (-3.5%), office machines and computer equipment (-11.3%) and automotive vehicles (-1.7%). It is worth highlighting that these sectors had recorded increase in the previous month: 7.8%, 7.4%, 1.9%, 14.3% and 10.6%, respectively. On the other hand, among the activities with increased production, the most important performance for the overall result came from petroleum refining and alcohol production (12.8%), recovering the decrease of 9.1% of the previous month, which had been influenced by interruptions in producing units of the sector. It is also worth citing the positive behavior of food products (1.5%), other transportation equipment (4.9%), mining and quarrying industry (1.9%), electronic material and communication equipment (4.1%) and basic metallurgy (1.7%).

Still in comparison with March, in the indexes of categories of use, only semi- and non-durable consumer goods (-0.8%) recorded a negative result, interrupting four months of growth, period in which it accumulated a gain of 5.5%. The other categories of use recorded positive indexes, with the highlight being the 2.4% increase in capital goods, the 13^th consecutive positive rate in this kind of confrontation, accumulating an expansion of 41.0% in this period. Sectors producing intermediate goods and durable consumer goods, both with an increase of 0.5%, also indicated growth, with the first sector accumulating 2.1% in two months of positive rates, and the second, after being practically stable in the previous month (0.1%), kept the sequence of positive indexes in 2010.

Even with the negative result from March to April, the quarterly moving average index remained positive for the 14^th month, with the quarter closed in April exceeding by 1.4% the level of March. By categories of use, all segments indicated positive rates, with highlights being capital goods, which showed the best acceleration between March and April (2.6%), followed by semi- and non-durable consumer goods (0.7%), intermediate goods (0.5%) and durable consumer goods (0.5%).

In relation to April 2009, the industrial sector increased 17.4%, a closer rhythm to what was observed in the first quarter of the year (18.2%), both comparisons against the same period of the previous year. For this two-digit result, besides the low basis for comparison due to the effects of the international economic crisis, it is worth highlighting the increased production rhythm in the first months of the year. The index of April was backed up by the growth in 25 of the 27 activities and 73% of the surveyed products. Among the sectors, the major positive influences on the overall rate came from, in order of importance, automotive vehicles (32.2%) and machinery and equipment (47.8%), both stimulated by the positive indexes in more than 80% of the investigated products in the respective sectors. Also deserve highlight: two-digit increases from basic metallurgy (30.7%), other chemical products (16.8%), metal products (31.4%) and mining and quarrying industry (17.4%). In these subsectors, the following items were highlights: cars and trucks; refrigerators and transportation companies; steel ingots, blocks and billets; herbicides, paints and varnishes for construction; parts and pieces for capital goods; and iron ore. On the other hand, the two activities that showed decreased production in relation to April 2009 were tobacco (-19.6%) and other transportation equipment (-2.1%), pressed by the smaller production of processed tobacco, in the first subsector, and planes in the second.

Still in the confrontation with April of last year, indexes were positive for all categories of use, with capital goods (36.3%) recording expansion rhythm very superior to that of general industry (17.4%). This result was supported by positive indexes in almost all its subsectors, with highlights being capital goods for transportation equipment (35.0%), capital goods for construction (208.5%) and capital goods for mixed use (34.0%). It is also worth highlighting the positive performance of capital goods for industrial purposes (34.2%), which recorded the highest rate of the historical series this month. The segment of durable consumer goods (20.9%), which also had an above average increase, showed the seventh consecutive positive result in this kind of comparison, stimulated by positive pressures from household appliances (47.9%), both those of the “white line” (36.4%) and those of the “brown line” (82.4%), cars (12.1%) and cell phones (10.1%).

The performance of intermediate goods was 17.8% above that of April 2009 and was influenced by the positive behavior of all its subsectors, with highlights being basic metallurgy products (30.8%), automotive vehicles (38.5%), mining and quarrying industry (17.4%), other chemical products (16.7%), metal products (40.9%), and rubber and plastic (21.5%). In these groups, expansions in the following items stood out: steel ingots, blocks and billets, and bars of other steel alloys; chassis with motor for trucks and buses, and pieces and accessories for vehicles; iron ore; herbicides for use in agriculture, and paints and varnishes for construction; parts and pieces for capital goods; tires, and rubber and plastic pieces and accessories for cars. The positive indexes observed in the group inputs for civil construction (18.2%) and in the sector of packaging (17.3%) stood out.

The segment semi- and non-durable consumer goods increased 7.9% in relation to the same month of the previous year, the sixth consecutive positive result, supported by increases in all its subsectors: food products and beverages for domestic use (7.3%), other non-durable (6.9%), semi-durable (11.7%) and fuels (9.9%). In these groups the highlights were, respectively, the increases observed in items soft drinks and beers; magazines and newspapers; footwear; alcohol and gasoline.

The expansion of 18.0% in the indicator accumulated in the first four months of the year also had a generalized growth profile, reaching 25 sectors, the four categories of use, 65 of the 76 industrial subsectors and 76% of the investigated products. Considering the activities, leadership remained with automotive vehicles (36.4%), followed by machinery and equipment (43.5%), basic metallurgy (34.1%), other chemical products (24.7%), metal products (39.9%) and mining and quarrying industry (18.5%). In these sectors, items that most stood out were: cars and trucks; microwave ovens, refrigerators and transportation companies; carbon steel ingots, blocks and billets, and special steels and carbon-steel bobbins; herbicides for use in agriculture; parts and pieces for capital goods; and iron ore. On the other hand, subsectors of other transportation equipment (-9.1%) and tobacco (-12.2%) exerted the only two negative pressures on the overall average.

Among the categories of use, still in the indicator accumulated in the first four-month period of the year, capital goods (28.7%) and durable consumer goods (26.4%) went on with the highest rates, followed by intermediate goods (19.2%), all with expansion above national average (18.0%). The segment semi- and non-durable consumer goods, with 8.7% increase, presented the most modest growth among categories of use.

In summary, April results show that even after a margin decrease (-0.7%), the trend of industrial production remains in expansion according to the quarterly moving average index, which grew 1.4% this month, supported by increases in all categories of use, especially capital goods (2.6%). In the other comparisons we may verify a generalized growth profile among categories of use, activities, subsectors and products. In the index analysis by four-month period, the industrial sector showed expansion of 18.0% in the first four months of 2010, the highest result of the historical series in this kind of confrontation and higher than that observed in the third four-month period of 2009 (2.2%), both comparisons against the same period of last year. In terms of categories of use, in this same kind of confrontation, all segments showed the same movement, with highlights being capital goods, which recorded the highest gain between both periods, when it changed from -6.8% to 28.7%, followed by intermediate goods (from 2.9% to 19.2%), durable consumer goods (from 15.2% to 26.4%) and semi- and non-durable consumer goods (from 0.8% to 8.7%).