Rio de Janeiro – In July this year, industrial output in Brazil grew for the seventh month running. Figures from the Monthly Industrial Survey – Physical Output, published today (31st) by the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE), show that performance in July, which was 2.2% stronger than in June, exceeded the average monthly growth rate for this year, which is 1.5%.
According to the Analysis and Derived Statistics manager of the IBGE, Isabella Nunes, this is one of the best results this year, on par with February’s and second only to January’s. Nevertheless, performance in January, with growth of 3%, was only better because the month against which it is compared – December 2008 – marked the peak of the economic crisis in Brazil, with a reduction of 12.5%.
According to Isabella Nunes, performance was driven mainly by the good results achieved by the durable consumer goods industry, in particular automobiles, motorcycles and white-line items, such as refrigerators and stoves.
“This increase in production of final goods impacts on the production chain, especially intermediate goods linked to the ironworks industry – which saw some previously idle ovens return to operation –, to the chemical and rubber industries, which are mainly suppliers to the automobile and electric appliance production chains,” she said.
According to Isabella Nunes, the positive result in durable goods production is a consequence of increased domestic consumption, boosted by incentives such as the reduction in the Tax on Industrialised Products (IPI) and the resumption of credit in the country.
In comparison with December 2008, the month when the crisis peaked, there was growth of 12% in July. Nevertheless, the industrial sector has not yet managed to recover the losses accumulated in the process, and the production level is now 10.6% lower than the record-high figure recorded in September last year. In comparison with July last year, the rate of reduction is 9.9%.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
