Agência CNI*
Brasília – Brazilian industry ended the first quarter of 2008 with expressive growth in all variables, according to research March Industrial Indices, disclosed today (5) by the National Confederation of Industries (CNI). Real revenues grew 7.6% from January to March this year as against the first three months of last year.
This was the best quarterly performance of the last five years. In the same period, employment rose 4.9%, salaries 6.8% and hours worked on production, 6%.
The use of the installed capacity in March was 83.1% in the series free of seasonal influences, against 82% registered in the same month in 2007. In comparison with February, the index presented growth of 0.1 percentage point. "The intensification of industrial activity in early 2008 without growth of the level of use of the installed capacity shows the expansion of productive capacity," according to the CNI study.
Real industrial revenues grew 8.7% in March when compared to February, according to the Industrial Indices research. On excluding seasonal and calendar effects, there was 0.5% reduction over the previous month. "This reduction should not be seen as a turnaround in the tendency for this index, but as an accommodation after seven months running of growth in the basis for comparison," according to CNI technicians.
Of the 19 sectors researched, 16 posted growth in revenues in the first quarter of this year in comparison with the same period in 2007. Four sectors were responsible for two thirds of this growth: vehicles (25.1%), machinery and equipment (19.9%), other equipment for transportation (21.9%) and electronic and communications material (20.1%).
Hours worked in production grew 3.8% in March when compared to February, according to the original index, and had a 0.3% reduction in the unseasonal result. "This reduction shows an accommodation after the growth of the last three months," according to the research. In the original index, it has been 15 months running of growth.
Employment in the transformation industry in Brazil grew 0.3% in March as against February with seasonal and calendar effects already having been discounted. Salaries paid to industrial workers rose in 15 of the 19 sectors studied. According to the Industrial Indices, the expansion of salaries is influenced by the growth in employment.
*Translated by Mark Ament
