Brazilian industrial production up 0.1% from March to April

Brazilian industrial production grew 0.1 percent from March to April, according to the Monthly Industrial Survey released on Tuesday (Jun. 3) by the Brazilian government’s statistics agency IBGE in Rio de Janeiro. This marks the fourth consecutive increase, with the indicator accumulating a 1.5 percent rise since January.

“This offsets the decline recorded in the last three months of 2024—the negative results from October, November, and December — which had totaled a 1 percent drop,” said IBGE researcher André Macedo.

He noted, however, that the 1.5 percent rise over four months was mainly driven by the 1.2 percent increase in March, as the other months showed results close to stability: 0.2 percent in January, 0.1 percent in February, and 0.1 percent in April.

The indicator also rose 0.5 percent in the quarter, 1.4 percent year to date, and 2.4 percent over the past 12 months. However, compared to April 2024, it fell 0.3 percent.

According to Macedo, the near-stagnant growth in industrial production from March to April (0.1%) reflects factors such as economic uncertainty and the high basic interest rate (Selic).

“Behind this slower pace of industrial production are factors we have been highlighting for some time. High interest rates are delaying household consumption and postponing business investment. There is also an environment of uncertainty, both domestically and internationally,” the researcher said.

Sectors

Most of the industry’s major economic categories grew from March to April. Capital goods, which include machinery and equipment for production, rose 1.4 percent, followed by intermediate goods—industrial inputs for production—up 0.7 percent, and durable consumer goods, which increased 0.4 percent. The only decline was in semi- and non-durable consumer goods, which fell 1.9 percent.

Of the 25 industrial activities surveyed, 13 recorded growth, with highlights including extractive industries (1%), beverages (3.6%), motor vehicles, trailers and bodies (1%), and printing and reproduction of recordings (11%). Chemical products remained stable.

Among the 11 declining industrial sectors, the largest decreases occurred in production of coke, petroleum products, and biofuels (-2.5%), pharmochemical and pharmaceutical products (-8.5%), pulp, paper, and paper products (-3.1%), machinery and equipment (-1.4%), furniture (-3.7%), miscellaneous products (-3.8%), and machinery, appliances, and electrical materials (-1.9%).