Region and industry in Brazil: is “concentrated deconcentration” still evident?

Abstract This article provides an analysis of the rearrangements of the industrial sector across the territory in the 1996-2015 period. Recent data have confirmed that regional concentration of industrial activities faced decline. Meanwhile, the following concerns should be considered: a) there is an undeniable loss in importance of the industrial sector in the Brazilian economy; b) industrial restructuring has been centered on natural resource and labor-intensive industrial activities, where productivity levels are very low; and c) industrial activities are, despite the recent deconcentration, spatially concentrated in relevant industrial agglomerations located in the South and Southeast.