Production performance industrial Brazilian and Rio Grande do Sul in 2011

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper examined the evolution of the productive activity of the Brazilian and Rio Grande do Sul State industries in 2011. The analysis of the indices of physical production, calculated by IBGE, showed that the trend of deceleration in manufacturing activity started in 2010, even though the cumulative annual growth still reached a high rate. The factors responsible for the contraction in industrial production are well known. Besides the low competitiveness, due to the appreciation of the real, the reduced level of investment in innovation and the poor country’s infrastructure, other factors were added this year: unwanted inventories accumulation, wage growth above the rate of expansion of the sector's productivity and the deepening crisis in the U.S. and Europe increasing the uncertainty in the international economic environment. In addition, imports grew much more than exports in some industries, jeopardizing important links of the production chain. Key words: Brazilian industry; State of Rio Grande do Sul industry; competitiveness; slowing production. Artigo recebido em 13 fev. 2012