Industrial production in Brazil rises 0.3% in May; fourth consecutive month of growth -IBGE

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) announced that industrial production rose 0.3% in May compared to April. The result was slightly below market forecasts, which had expected growth of up to 0.7% for the month. This was the fourth consecutive positive result for the sector.

The institute released the report on Tuesday (5).

Despite the growth for the fourth consecutive month, the sector has not recovered from the 1.9% decline recorded in January.

The industry’s economic activity is below pre-pandemic levels (Covid-19). It recovered in September 2020 but fell back below February 2020 levels in March 2021.

Capital goods rose 7.4% in May from April. Consumer durables rose 3%. The intermediate and nondurable goods sector rose 0.8%. The intermediate goods segment fell 1.3% for the month.

Among the sectors, the main positive influences were recorded by machinery and equipment (+7.5%) and motor vehicles, trailers, and bodies (+3.7%).

The following also contributed:

Food (+1.3%);
Leather, travel goods and footwear (+9.4%).
Machinery, equipment and electrical materials (+5.5%);
Other transport equipment (+10.3%);
Miscellaneous products (+9.0%);
Maintenance, repair, and installation of machinery and equipment (+7.5%);
Computer, electronic and optical products (+3.6%).

In contrast, the value of the extractive industries decreased by 5.6%. Other chemical products contracted by 8%.

The sector grew by 0.5% year-on-year in May 2022. This year, the sector is down 2.6%. In 12 months, it has fallen 1.9%.