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Economy in Brief
U.S. Import Prices Rise With Higher Fuel Costs; Export Prices Steady
Import prices increased 0.5% (3.5% y/y) during September...
EMU IP Gain Is Unexpectedly Strong
After two months of relatively deep declines, EMU IP has turned higher. It gained 1% in August...
U.S. CPI & Core CPI Edge Higher
The CPI rose 0.1% (2.3% y/y) during September...
U.S. Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Show Modest Increase
Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 214,000 (-11.2% y/y) during the week ended October 6...
U.S. Mortgage Loan Applications Decline As Interest Rates Rise
The MBA total Mortgage Applications Index was fell 1.7% (-14.4% y/y) in the week ending October 5...
by Tom Moeller July 15, 2005
Industrial production in June jumped 0.9% and handily beat Consensus expectations for a 0.4% rise. The gain was inflated by warmer weather which raised utility output by 5.3%. Factory sector output rose 0.4% (3.8% y/y) following a downwardly revised 0.4% increase in May.
Output of computers & peripheral equipment jumped 1.3% (12.5% y/y) though high tech output overall rose just 0.3% (17.0% y/y). Excluding the high tech sector factory output rose 0.5% (3.1% y/y) due to a 2.9% (6.9% y/y) rise in motor vehicle output and a 0.8% (9.2% y/y) increase in aerospace. Electrical equipment fell 0.1% (+1.0% y/y) and machinery output rose 0.2% (7.0% y/y).
Total capacity utilization rose to 80.0% and capacity grew 1.1% y/y. Factory sector utilization rose to 78.4% versus 76.5% last June and capacity rose 1.3% y/y.
The Relationship Between Capacity Utilization and Inflation from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia can be found here.
| Production & Capacity | June | May | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial Production | 0.9% | 0.3% | 4.0% | 4.1% | -0.0% | -0.3% |
| Consumer Goods | 1.2% | 0.7% | 4.1% | 2.7% | 0.3% | 1.4% |
| Business Equipment | 0.2% | 1.0% | 8.2% | 9.5% | 1.2% | -7.9% |
| Capacity Utilization | 80.0% | 79.4% | 77.8% (6/04) | 78.1% | 75.5% | 75.3% |
