BRASILIA, June 10 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) – Brazilian industry registered the poorest monthly performance in a decade in Apr, with a 23.3 percent drop in billing, compared to the previous month, the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) said on Tuesday.
The billing dipped even further (26.4 percent) compared to the same month in 2019.
According to the report from CNI, Apr also saw a dip in the number of production hours, which fell 19.4 percent compared to Mar, and 21.8 percent compared to Apr, 2019.
Other indicators also tumbled, including the number of workers in the industrial sector, which decreased 2.3 percent compared to Mar and four percent year on year.
The numbers confirmed a trend first registered in Mar, when all three indicators (billing, production hours and size of the labour force) dropped.
The negative growth figures reflected the impact “of the severe and lasting reduction in demand” amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Data on sales, hours of work and usage of installed capacity saw record contractions, registering the lowest levels since such records started in 2010, while industrial employment registered the lowest level since 2004.
In Apr, usage of installed capacity plunged by a record 69.6 percent.
CNI’s executive manager, Renato da Fonseca, said, while presenting the report that April represented the peak of the crisis sparked by lock-down measures.
“We expect the economy to begin to recover in June, even though the scenario may see a slight improvement in May, with the easing of restrictions at the end of the month,” said Fonseca.– NNN-PRENSA LATINA
