Industrial output up 1.1% in October: IBGE
For the sixth month in a row, Brazil’s industrial output posted an increase in October—1.1 percent compared to September. With 39 percent for the six-month period, the sector is 1.4 percentage points higher than February, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Year to date, production is still negative (-6.3%), with a 5.6 percent shrinkage posted for the last 12 months.
From October 2019, production went up 0.3 percent. Industry is still 14.9 percent below the record level in production, posted in May 2011. The fata come from the Monthly Industrial Survey, published today (Dec. 2) by Brazil’s government statistics agency IBGE.
“The data show that there is some degree of recovery. The emergency measures were important, but there’s still room for consideration,” said research manager André Macedo.
Economic categories
According to the data, two of the four major economic categories displayed growth, chiefly capital goods, up seven percent from September to October, and durable consumption goods, up 1.4 percent.
These categories also exhibited expansion for the sixth month in a row, with accumulated rates of 11.5 percent and 506.7 percent respectively. Capital goods are 3.5 percent above February, whereas durable consumption goods are still 4.2 percent below.
The intermediary goods category posted a 0.2 percent slide and semi- and non-durable consumption goods 0.1 percent. The drops interrupted a five-month streak of production growth, with accumulated gains of 26.6 and 30.4 percent respectively.
The increase in October, the manager noted, reflected a behavior different from other months, which had been experiencing widespread strides among the fields. Now, 15 of the 25 fields surveyed showed a surge in output. In September, 22 of all 26 fields underwent an increase.
According to André Macedo, the effect of the pandemic was evident in the sector, especially in March and April, with more strict social distancing measures. “Despite this streak of increases and the restoration of February levels, the amount year-to-date is still negative,” he said.
