Recent Updates
- US: Monthly Treasury Statement, Wholesale Trade (Jun), Consumer Prices (Jul)
- Brazil: Retail Trade (Jul)
- North Macedonia: Central Bank Bills (Jul)
- Albania: Banking system liabilities (Q2)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. Mortgage Applications Rose Slightly in the Latest Week
Mortgage applications increased 0.2% (-62.9% y/y) from one week earlier...
U.S. Productivity Declines in Q2, Pushing Unit Labor Costs Higher
Nonfarm business sector productivity fell 4.6% (AR) during Q2'22...
U.S. Small Business Optimism Edged Up in July
The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index edged up to 89.9 in July...
U.S. Gasoline & Crude Oil Prices Continue Weakening
Retail gasoline prices declined to $4.04 per gallon (+27.3% y/y) last week...
OECD LEIs Point to a Ramp Down in Growth - and Nothing More
The OECD metrics this month show a broad tendency for growth to slow down...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
Capacity utilization continues to hold to strong levels but is at the same time well short of the past cycle peak. Capacity is not an issue in manufacturing. It has been on a plateau in recent months. On balance industrial output is still showing gains. The first quarter of 2007 appears as though it will be a quarter of growth. Manufacturing surveys so far in the quarter seem to paint a weaker picture than the actual inflation-adjusted report on output itself. While that is a bit disconcerting, it is better that way, than the other way around. |
Monthly Pct. Changes | At Annual Rates of Change | SAAR | |||||
Month-to-month Pct. Change | 3-Month | 6-Month | Year/Year | 07-Q1 | |||
Industrial Output | Feb-07 | Jan-07 | Dec-06 | %Change | %Change | %Change | Pct Change |
All Prod&Materials | 0.9% | -0.3% | 0.8% | 5.7% | 1.1% | 3.4% | 2.7% |
All Products | 0.9% | -0.4% | 0.8% | 5.4% | 1.6% | 3.6% | 2.9% |
Final Products | 1.1% | -0.4% | 0.8% | 6.0% | 2.8% | 4.6% | 3.8% |
Manufacturing only | |||||||
MFG - NAICS | 0.3% | -0.5% | 1.1% | 3.9% | -0.3% | 2.9% | 1.7% |
MFG-Durables | 0.7% | -0.8% | 1.2% | 4.3% | 0.0% | 4.3% | 1.7% |
MFG-Nondurables | -0.1% | -0.2% | 1.1% | 3.4% | -0.7% | 1.1% | 1.7% |
Consumer Goods | 1.5% | 0.0% | 0.4% | 7.4% | 3.3% | 3.4% | 5.3% |
Durables | 1.6% | -2.6% | 1.7% | 2.7% | -2.1% | -1.0% | -1.0% |
Automotive Production | 3.2% | -5.1% | 2.4% | 1.6% | -2.0% | -2.3% | -3.5% |
Ex. Automotive Production | 0.2% | -0.3% | 1.1% | 3.7% | -2.1% | 0.1% | 1.3% |
Nondurables | 1.5% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 9.2% | 5.2% | 4.9% | 7.4% |
Non Energy | 0.3% | -0.3% | 0.8% | 3.3% | 3.7% | 3.5% | 2.1% |
Cons Energy | 5.3% | 4.4% | -2.5% | 28.6% | 10.4% | 9.5% | 26.0% |
Business Equip. | 0.4% | -2.1% | 2.2% | 1.9% | 2.3% | 8.5% | -0.9% |
Transportation | -0.1% | -1.7% | 1.6% | -0.8% | 6.4% | 9.2% | 2.1% |
Computer&Office Eqpt | 5.1% | 2.8% | 1.8% | 40.1% | 34.4% | 30.8% | 39.6% |
Ex. Tech.& Transport | 0.0% | -2.3% | 2.4% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 7.5% | -2.6% |
Materials | 1.0% | -0.2% | 0.8% | 6.5% | 0.4% | 3.2% | 2.7% |
Durables | 0.9% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 8.7% | 0.8% | 4.9% | 5.6% |
Nondurables - Excl Energy | 0.4% | -1.4% | 1.4% | 1.2% | -3.2% | -0.3% | -2.9% |
Energy | 1.9% | -0.2% | 0.2% | 7.6% | 3.2% | 3.9% | 3.1% |
Actual Auto Production Levels | |||||||
Month-to-month Pct. Change | 3-Month | 6-Month | Year/Year | 04-Q1 | |||
Vehicle Production | Feb-07 | Jan-07 | Dec-06 | %Change | %Change | %Change | Pct Change |
Autos | -4.0% | 15.8% | -11.4% | -6.3% | -36.4% | -10.9% | -9.8% |
Trucks | 11.8% | 8.0% | -11.0% | 30.0% | -12.8% | 1.8% | 13.0% |