Brazil’s industrial production advances 0.3% in October

In Oct. 2022, the national industrial production had a positive variation of 0.3% compared to Sep. in the seasonally influenced free series.

Compared to Oct. 2021, the industry grew by 1.7%. In the year, the industry has accumulated a drop of 0.8% and, in 12 months, a retreat of 1.4%.

With these results, the industrial sector is 2.1% below the pre-pandemic level (Feb. 2020), and 18.4% below the record level reached in May 2011.

Also, in the seasonally adjusted series, with the industry losing momentum in recent months, the quarterly moving average continued to show a decline in Oct. 2022 and intensified the magnitude of the drop compared to what was recorded last September and August.

In the positive variation of 0.3% in industrial activity from Sep. to Oct. 2022, two of the four major economic categories and only 7 of the 26 surveyed industries showed production growth.

Among the activities, the most important positive influences were noted by food products (4.8%) and metallurgy (4.6%), with the former eliminating part of the 7.1% loss accumulated in the months of September and August; and the latter returning to growth after dropping 7.6% in the previous month.

On the other hand, among the nineteen activities that showed a drop in production, motor vehicles, trailers, and buses (-6.7%), machinery and equipment (-9.1%), and beverages (-9.3%) were the main impacts in Oct. 2022.

Also noteworthy were the declines in leather, travel goods, and footwear (-13.2%), other chemical products (-3.0%), miscellaneous products (-12.5%), clothing and accessories (-7.1%), wood products (-8.8%), rubber and plastic products (-2.6%), and machinery, appliances, and electrical materials (-3.5%).

Among the major economic categories, intermediate goods (0.7%) and semi- and non-durable consumer goods (0.3%) marked the positive rates in Oct. 2022 after declining for two consecutive months, accumulating losses of 2.6% and 3.5%, respectively.

On the other hand, the sectors producing capital goods (-4.1%) and consumer durables (-2.7%) showed negative results this month, with both recording the second month in a row of drops in production and accumulating losses of 4.7% and 2.9%, respectively.

The quarterly moving average varies -0.4% in the quarter that ended in Oct.

Also, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the quarterly moving average for the industry showed a negative variation of 0.4% in the quarter that ended Oct. 2022, compared to the level of the previous month, after also dropping in Sep. (-0.3%) and Aug. (-0.2%), when it interrupted the predominantly upward trend that began in Nov. 2021.

Among the major economic categories, semi- and non-durable consumer goods (-1.1%) and intermediate goods (-0.6%) marked the negative results in Oct. 2022, and both remain on the downward trajectory that began in July 2022.

On the other hand, the sectors producing durable consumer goods (1.0%) and capital goods (0.3%) showed advances this month, with the former eliminating the 0.4% retreat registered in the previous month, when it interrupted the upward trend that began in March 2022; and the latter marking the fourth consecutive positive rate and accumulating a 1.4% gain in this period.