Exports of automobiles increased 8.4% in April, with the sale of 73,152 vehicles. In relation to the four-month period, the increase was of 7.5% in comparison with the same previous period, with the export of 253,359 units from January to April.
On the other hand, exports of agricultural and road machinery increased by 26.3% in the first four months. The month of April represented a drop in the sector, with a decline of 6.1% in comparison with March.
The data are part of the April report released today (7), in São Paulo, by the National Association of Manufacturers of Automotive Vehicles (Anfavea).
According to Anfavea, in the domestic market, from January to April, 762,880 vehicles were sold, 21.3% more than in the same period of last year. The month of April represented a rise of 4.8% in relation to March, with the sale of 217.3 thousand units in the month. In comparison with April last year, the increase was 38.5%.
In announcing the data, the president of Anfavea, Antonio Megale, highlighted the result as “the best April since 2015, and the best month since December 2015, which means that little bit the number is coming back. We see that in the accumulated [January to April] we are with 763 thousand units [sold], but we have not yet reached the average of the last ten years that is 951 thousand units. We still have room to grow, I think the result is coming gradually. ”
The trucks had a 3.9% increase in sales in April. In the last month, 6,200 units were registered. In the first quarter, the increase in sales was 57.6% compared to the same period last year. According to the vice president of the entity, Luiz Carlos Gomes de Moraes, the result will maintain the growth forecast for the area. “The truck market is following the economy, which tends to confirm our forecast for total year-over-year growth of more than 25% over last year.”
Domestic sales of agricultural and road machinery declined by 7.2% in the first four months of the year, compared to sales from January to April 2017. According to the balance sheet, 11,700 units were sold in the period. But the sector rose 17.6%, in the comparison between the last March and April, with 4,1 thousand units sold.
For Megale, the beginning of last year was heated, which represented better numbers than this beginning of year. “Last year we had a supersafra, with a good level of profitability. There was a lot of machinery sales in the first quarter for harvesting and planting, so the beginning of last year was very heated and we are lower than last year. ” For him, however, recovery is already happening. “We are recovering this, we started with a 39% decrease compared to January to January and in accumulated is 7% less,” he said.
Production
Vehicle production grew 20.7% in the first four months of the year compared to the period from January to April 2017, although the month of April recorded a decrease of 0.5%, with the production of 266.1 thousand vehicles compared to 267,500 produced in March.
According to the balance sheet released by Anfavea, 965.87 thousand units were manufactured in the first four months of 2018, while production in the same period last year was 800.19 thousand vehicles.
Production of agricultural and road machinery decreased by 5.1% in April compared to the previous month, but increased 1.3% in the first four months of this year compared to the same period in 2017.
The level of employment in industry rose by 4.1% in April compared to the same month in 2017. Last year, vehicle manufacturers employed 126,500 people, while it now has a total of 131,700 employees.
Prediction
According to the entity, for now the growth forecasts will be maintained. For the production of vehicles (automobiles, light commercials, trucks, buses), Anfavea estimates an increase of 13.2%. For the licensing is expected an increase of 11.7% and for exports the sector is expected to increase its sales abroad by 5%.
“But we are growing more than this, growing to 20%, but for now we are keeping the forecast around 11.7% and 12%. As for production, it will grow more than 20% and we will exceed 3 million units. I think it’s an important milestone and we should occupy more of the capacity of our factories, and if the export market continues strong, if internal sales figures also remain at the current level, we might even have a positive surprise at the end of the year, “Megale said.
The forecast for sales of agricultural and road machinery is 3.7%. Production is expected to grow by 11.8%. In terms of values, the sector should move US $ 16.7 billion this year.
Source: Comex do Brasil
