08/07/2008 15h25
São Paulo Industry grows 9.8% in the first half-year
Folha de S. Paulo - 08/07/2008
Responsible for nearly 40% of the national production, the industry of São Paulo increased its activity by 9.8% in the first half of the year. Even below the level reached by other regions, the result was one of the main growth propellers of the country, 6.3% in the period, the greatest since the first half of 2004. With that, both the industrial production of São Paulo and the national production reached a new historical record, according to the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics). "São Paulo carries great weight to Industry and it has grown in 17 of the 20 segments analyzed", explains the coordinator of the industry monthly survey of the institute, Isabella Nunes. The study shows that, in every comparison, the performance of the State of São Paulo exceeds the national average. In relation to May, the growth of June was 2.8%; and, compared to June 2007, 10.3%. In the accumulated in the last 12 months, growth reaches 8.9%. The national averages are 2.7%, 6.6%, and 6.7%, respectively. Such growth, however, was not restricted to São Paulo. In the first half of the year, all the 14 regions surveyed by the IBGE had production's increases. Some States even reached rates above 10%: Espírito Santo (16.1%), Paraná (11.3%), and Goiás (11.1%). Behind São Paulo, but also above the national average, come Pernambuco (7.9%), Amazonas (7.5%), and Minas Gerais (6.6%). Santa Catarina (1.3%), Rio de Janeiro (2.3%) and Ceará (2.6%) had the worse performances. In São Paulo, the segments that had the greatest expansion in the first half of the year were: vehicles (18.3%), electronic material and communications equipment (25.1%), machinery and equipment (10.9%), electric machines, devices and materials (25%), and other chemical products (13.3%). The positive performance of these segments is mainly due to the increase in the production of cars, cellular telephones, goods' transportation devices, transformers and pesticides.
