Recent Updates
- Vietnam: CPI, International Trade, Retail Sales, Industrial Production (Nov)
- India: GDP Press (Q3)
- Brazil: Manufacturing Confidence Indexes (Nov), Household Employment (Sep)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
Italy's ISAE Sector Confidence Rebounds Then Retreats
The Italian business and consumer confidence readings are excellent examples of what much of Europe is going through right now...
U.S. New Home Sales Almost Unchanged Since August
New single-family home sales around the country changed very little in October and also in September...
U.S. Q3 Growth GDP Unrevised at 33.1%; Corporate Profits Rebound
The second estimate of Q3 U.S. real GDP indicated that economic activity rose an unrevised 33.1% q/q...
U.S. Durable Goods Orders Rise Further in October
Manufacturers’ orders for durable goods increased 1.3% m/m (-0.3% y/y) in October...
U.S. Goods Trade Deficit Deepens During October
The advance estimate of the U.S. trade deficit in goods deepened to $80.29 billion during October...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller April 15, 2005
Industrial production matched Consensus expectations and rose 0.3% in March following a downwardly revised 0.2% gain in February. The increase was due to cold weather which lifted utility output by 3.7% (5.0% y/y).
Factory sector output fell 0.1% (+4.2% y/y) for the first decline since September. Excluding a 0.9% (20.0% y/y) rise in high tech sector output, manufacturing production fell 0.2% (+3.1% y/y).
Motor vehicle & parts led output lower and fell 3.6% (+2.1% y/y). Excluding both high tech & motor vehicles factory in March, output ticked up 0.1% (3.2% y/y). Output of furniture was unchanged (-0.7% y/y) but clothing output fell 1.9% (-10.0% y/y). Machinery output rose 0.5% (7.3% y/y) and production of electrical equipment, appliances & components rose 0.4% (4.0% y/y).
Total capacity utilization rose to 79.4% as capacity grew 1.2% y/y. Factory sector utilization fell to 78.0% and capacity rose 1.3% y/y.
Yesterday's speech by Federal Reserve Board Governor Donald L. Kohn on the Economic Outlook can be found here.
| Production & Capacity | Mar | Feb | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial Production | 0.3% | 0.2% | 3.9% | 4.1% | -0.0% | -0.3% |
| Consumer Goods | -0.2% | 0.5% | 2.4% | 2.7% | 0.3% | 1.4% |
| Business Equipment | 0.2% | 0.2% | 8.7% | 9.5% | 1.2% | -7.9% |
| Capacity Utilization | 79.4% | 79.3% | 77.4% (03/04) | 78.1% | 75.5% | 75.3% |
