Manufacturing Industry Survey

The Survey of Manufacturing Industry is a monthly statistical survey that generates primarily qualitative information. It generates indicators of the overall state of the economy and its trends in order to support corporate and economic policy decisions.

Survey reports emphasize what is likely to happen in the present and the near future. Most forecasts are for the quarter that starts in the month of the research, using the quarter immediately preceding it for comparison. However, with regard to the expected business situation, the projection is for six months and the comparison is with the same period of the previous year. Assessments about what is currently happening relate to the moment the research was carried out.

Forecasts and observations are comparative (bigger/ better, smaller/ worse, equal). Inventories are described as excessive, normal, or insufficient. Level of capacity utilization and the number of shifts of work (quarter) are the only items quantified.

The survey asks about the company and its products, its labor force, and capacity utilization. Variables such as demand, production and inventories are assessed by product line. The answers are weighted by turnover, except for those about external demand, which are weighted by exports, and the level of employment, which is weighted by active personnel.

Every quarter questions are added about factors that might limit the expansion of production in the short run; the time it takes for main suppliers to deliver compared to what is normal for that time of year; working hours by shift; volume of purchases; and prices of raw materials and components.

To ensure confidentiality of the information given, FGV has rules for usability that make it impossible to identify the informant. When there are two or fewer informants of a given type or a company’s market share is high enough to make identification possible, the research results are not aggregated in a given category.

Each company designates the person responsible for filling out the questionnaires, meeting criteria provided by FGV; the person, usually a manager or director, is necessarily someone with a comprehensive understanding of all the company’s different activities.

Informants represent large, medium, and small manufacturers, segmented by sector. A permanent group of the larger companies is surveyed in each segment, and a rotating group of medium and small-sized companies take part in turn.

The sample always corresponds to at least 30% of the total value of production in each segment where there is a large number of small and medium competitors and at least 70% of production value in each segment where activity is concentrated in fewer larger companies.

Most of the responses by industry type are weighted by the turnover of companies belonging to the sample, except for active employees and external demand. For general manufacturing, weighting is done according to the value added by manufacturing or active personnel by industrial type, using data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

Sectors and Subsectors Covered

Nonmetallic Mineral Products
Cement
Other nonmetallic products for construction
Other nonmetallic intermediate goods

Metallurgical
Iron and steel: Finished and semi-finished forms, laminates, and wire
Nonferrous metals: Primary semi-finished shapes, laminates, and wire
Other metallurgic products for construction
Metallic packaging

Mechanical
Industrial equipment for hydraulic, thermal, ventilation, and cooling (with or without electrical engines) installation components and accessories
Machine tools and industrial devices (with or without electrical engines)
Equipment for industrial and commercial installations, to move or lift people or loads
Products and accessories for the exercise of arts and crafts

Electrical and Communications
Electrical materials (including for vehicles) and light bulbs
Electrical devices for domestic and private use
Electronic materials
Equipment for communication, except for residential use, classified in group 138
Televisions, radios, phonographs, and tape players and recorders

Transportation
Manufacturers of cars, station wagons, and similar vehicles
Trucks, buses, and similar products
Components and accessories (except electrical) for automotive vehicles
Airplanes and helicopters, and their components and accessories
Bicycle and motorcycles, and their components and accessories

Wood
Logging, wood laminates, and sawn lumber
Wood sheeting and boards, agglomerated or pressed, and condensed wood, with or without a plastic lining.

Furniture
Wood, wicker, and rush materials

Cellulose, Paper, and Cardboard
Cellulose and mechanical pulp
Paper, cardboard, and packaging products

Rubber
Tires and inner tubes

Leather and Fur
Leather and fur products

Chemistry
Chemical elements and basic chemical products, except for products derived from oil, oil shale, and rock and wood carbon
Oil-derived fuels and lubricants
Artificial and synthetic resins, fibers, and yarns
Synthetic and rubber latex
Manure and fertilizer

Pharmaceutical and Veterinary Products
Pharmaceuticals for human use

Perfumery, Soaps, Detergents, Glycerin, and Candles
Perfumery products
Soaps, detergents, and glycerines

Plastic Products
Products for packaging
Products for construction

Textile Industry
Cotton cloth
Textile products for residential use

Clothing and Shoes
Wardrobe articles, including clothes and coats
Shoes

Food
Slaughterhouses, preserved meats, and edible animal fat
Milk and dairy products
Sugar
Pasta and cookies
Other food products

Beverages
Beer, draft beer, and malt liquor
Nonalcoholic beverages

Tobacco
Cigarettes and cut tobacco
Publishing and Printing
Newspapers, books, manuals, and other periodicals