Rio de Janeiro – Industrial production dropped in nine out of 14 regions surveyed by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) from December 2011 to January this year. According to figures disclosed this Tuesday (13th), the highest declines were seen in the states of (-13.4%) and Paraná (-11.5%).
Activity dropped by rates higher than the national average, which was -2.1%, in Rio de Janeiro (-5.9%) and Ceará (-3.1%). Industrial activity also saw a decline in São Paulo (-1.7%), Santa Catarina (-1.6%), Minas Gerais (-1.3%), Pernambuco (-1.0%) and Espírito Santo (-0.4%).
In turn, activity in Bahia increased by 12.6%, after a reduction of 11.4% in December and November combined. Industry production rose by 5.7% in the Northeast region, 3.3% in Goiás, 0.5% Rio Grande do Sul and 0.1% in Amazonas.
According to the IBGE survey, activity decreased in seven out of the 14 areas surveyed, in comparison with January 2011. The document emphasizes that January 2012 had one more working day than January 2011.
Industrial activity dropped by rates higher than the national average, which was -3.4% using this basis of comparison, in Santa Catarina (-10.3%), Rio de Janeiro (-9.2%), Pará (-8.5%), Ceará (-8.3%) and São Paulo (-6.3%). There was also a decline in Espírito Santo (-2.8%) and Minas Gerais (-2.4%).
The state of Goiás recorded the sharpest increase (25.4%), mostly due to the chemical industry (medication). Other states where results were positive were Pernambuco (11.3%), Rio Grande do Sul (7.8%), Bahia (6.5%), Paraná (4.8%), Northeast (3.8%) and Amazonas (1.7%).
Over the last 12 months, in the national average, there was a 0.2% drop in January, the first negative result since March 2010 (-0.3%), thus maintaining the downward trend which started in October 2010 (11.8%).
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
