The industrial production in Brazil grew 0.8% in October 2019, compared to September, according to data released this week by IBGE – The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. This is the second best result for October since 2012, when the Brazilian production advanced 1.2%. Furthermore, it is the third consecutive month in which this indicator shows an increase, causing the accumulated growth of this period to be 2.4%, a positive result that has not been repeated since 2017. The accumulated result for the last 12 months, however, is still negative: -1.1%. In the comparison between the months of October 2018 and October 2019 there was an increase of 1%.
Of the 26 categories analyzed by the institute, 14 showed growth in their results in the month of October. The positive highlight was the pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical industry, whose results advanced 11.2%. Among the economic sectors that experienced retraction, biofuels (-2.1%), metallurgy (-3.2%) and the extractive industry stood out with a decline of -1.1%. In relation to the fall in the metallurgical sector, the research clarifies that it is related to the decrease in steel production (production of steel and cast iron).
Domestic consumption drove the increasing numbers
The positive numbers presented by a good part of the sectors that make up the Brazilian industry are the result of the increase in domestic consumption. “When we look at the last three months, we see an improvement in the industry’s trajectory. This growth has been influenced by domestic demand and a small improvement in the labor market, accompanied by the mass of earnings, the granting of credit, the release of funds and the inflation below the target. This improvement is far from recovering the losses of the past, but it shows a change in the production sector, which until half of the year was negative ”, evaluates André Macedo, IBGE’s research manager.
The durable goods industry, which includes the furniture industry, increased by 1.3% in October.
Maristela Cusin Longhi, President of Abimóvel, mentions that the growth of the industry is in its first steps: “Brazil has increased its competitiveness in the main global markets thanks to the manufacturer’s investments in design, technology, sustainability and the development of increasingly bold products and innovation. The participation of the industry in international furniture and design events, one of the pillars of the Brazilian Furniture Project, has contributed significantly to the repositioning of furniture in the main buyer markets. For the year of 2020, we have a full national and international calendar already set”.