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Economy in Brief
Philadelphia Fed Factory Conditions Plunge
The Philadelphia Fed reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index retreated to 19.9 during June...
U.S. FHFA House Price Index Improves Minimally
The FHFA U.S. house price index nudged 0.1% higher (6.4% y/y) during April...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Down Slightly
Initial claims for unemployment insurance were 218,000 during the week ended June 16...
U.S. Existing Home Sales Decline While Prices Rise
The NAR U.S. existing home sales fell 0.4% (-3.0% y/y) during May to 5.430 million units (AR)...
U.S. Current Account Deficit Widens
The U.S. current account deficit rose to $124.1 billion during Q1 2018...
by Tom Moeller October 14, 2005
Industrial output last month fell 1.3% reflecting the effects of Hurricane's Katrina & Rita and the decline by far outpaced Consensus expectations for a 0.4% drop. Utility output (-0.9%) and mining output (-9.1%) again reflected the worst damage. Factory sector production fell a lesser 0.6% (+2.9% y/y).
The Federal Reserve indicated that storm-related production declines may have reduced the change in total industrial production about 1.7 percentage points and by nearly 0.4 percentage points in August. Additionally, the strike in the aircraft industry reduced the change in total industrial output by almost 0.5 percentage points.
Output of computers, peripheral equipment & semiconductors jumped 3.7% (24.6% y/y). Excluding the high tech sector factory output fell 0.9% (+1.6% y/y).
Output of appliances, furniture & carpeting rose 0.3% (4.1% y/y) but business equipment output dropped a sharp 3.7% reflecting a 24.3% drop in transit equipment and a 3.4% decline in defense & space.
Total capacity utilization fell sharply to 78.6% and capacity grew 1.1% y/y. Factory sector utilization fell to 77.9% while capacity rose 1.4% y/y.
| Production & Capacity | Sept | Aug | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial Production | -1.3% | 0.2% | 2.0% | 4.1% | -0.0% | -0.3% |
| Consumer Goods | 0.3% | 0.5% | 3.6% | 2.7% | 0.3% | 1.4% |
| Business Equipment | -3.7% | -0.4% | 4.0% | 9.5% | 1.2% | -7.9% |
| Capacity Utilization | 78.6% | 79.8% | 78.0% (9/04) | 78.1% | 75.5% | 75.3% |
