Brazil Industrial Production Rose in May as Some Plants Resumed Operations

By Jeffrey T. Lewis

SAO PAULO--Brazil's industrial production rose in May from April, following two months of declines, as some manufacturers reopened after shutting down in March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Production rose a seasonally adjusted 7.0% in the month, and fell 21.9% from a year earlier, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, or IBGE, said Thursday.

In April, IBGE reported that production dropped 18.8% in the month and plunged a revised 27.3% from a year earlier.

Brazilian businesses shut down across the country in March as the health crisis began, and most remained closed during April as infections spread. In May, some states had begun to relax some restrictions and some manufacturers also resumed operations, allowing output for the month to pop up.

"The 7.0% expansion, despite having been the highest since June 2018, is mainly due to a very low comparison basis. Even with the positive performance, the total of the industry is still 34.1% below the record level, reached in May 2011," Andre Macedo, IBGE's research manager for the series, said.

Brazil's motor vehicle makers were among those who halted production in March, and car output plummeted 99% in April. General Motors Co. and some rival car markers resumed some production in May, as did other manufacturers, pushing industrial production up again.

As a result, motor vehicle production soared 244.4% in the month, though it was still 72.8% below February's production, IBGE said. Drinks output jumped 65.6% and production of petroleum derivatives and biofuels increased 16.2%.

Though the rise in output was generalized, some sectors did reduce production in the month. Extractive industries, which includes the country's important iron-ore and oil industries, fell 5.6% and paper, pulp and paper products declined 6.4%, the statistics agency said.

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