This article analyses changes in the structure and competitiveness ofthe Brazilian capital goods industry since the early 1990s and proposes aclassification within that industry based on the different industrial segmentsfrom which the demand for machinery and equipment derives. Althoughthis industry still accounts for a large share of manufacturing sector valueadded, the production efficiency and international competitiveness of thesegments it comprises are quite heterogeneous. The article singles out thesegments with the greatest development potential and suggests measuresthat could be taken in each of them to complement the industrial andtechnology policy instruments contained in the Production DevelopmentPolicy officially established in May 2008.