The production of the national industry grew in 13 of the 15 places surveyed by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) from December to January, when the sector registered an increase of 0.9% after two months of consecutive falls.

The positive rates, released yesterday (12) in the Regional Monthly Industrial Survey, are the highest since June 2018, when the industry began to recover from the truckers' strike that started in May of that year.

The highlight in the month was the state of São Paulo, the largest industrial park in the country, which grew 2.3% and led to the increase in the indicator. “The São Paulo industry has had two negative months, in which it accumulated a 3.7% drop. The January result was the highest since August 2019 (3.2%). This increase was driven by the sectors of automotive vehicles, machinery and equipment and metallurgy ”, said, in a note, the analyst responsible for the research, Bernardo Almeida.

According to the IBGE, Rio de Janeiro had the second largest positive influence on the index, with an increase of 3.9%, driven by the sectors of vehicles and oil products. "With that, the industry in Rio de Janeiro eliminated the decrease registered in December (-3.9%)", stated Almeida, adding that the result was the biggest since July last year.

The analyst also highlighted the 10.3% growth in industrial production in Bahia. “The result had the third biggest influence on the index, and is the biggest since June 2018, when it reached 16.3%. The Bahian industry managed, with the high of January, to eliminate the losses of the previous three months, when it accumulated a decrease of 5.5%. The main sectors were chemicals, automotive vehicles and oil products, ”said Almeida.

In contrast, the industries of Pará (-4.2%) and Mato Grosso (-2.3%) decreased in January. “In Pará, the drop was the most intense since September 2019, due to the extractive sector, and eliminated the 2.7% growth in December. Mato Grosso, on the other hand, recorded the second consecutive negative rate, accumulating a loss of 7.2% in this period ”, informs the IBGE.