Recent Updates
- US: Mfg & Trade Inventories & Sales (Apr), IP & Capacity Utilization Advance Retail Sales (May)
- US: Industrial Production Detail (May)
- Iceland: Unemployment Rate (May)
- Thailand: Check Clearing System (May)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. Industrial Production Rebounds
Industrial
production increased 0.4% (2.0% y/y) during May and recouped a 0.4% April
decline...
U.S. Business Inventories Rise in April as Sales Decline
Total business inventories increased 0.5% (5.3% year-on-year) during April...
Italian Inflation Stays Under Wraps...but Other Pressures Don't
Italy had a long legacy as a high-inflation weak-currency country when EMU was formed...
U.S. Import and Export Prices Decline
Import prices fell 0.3% (-1.5% y/y) during May following a
0.1% April improvement...
U.S. Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Rise
Initial unemployment insurance claims rose to 222,000 in the
week ending June 8 from 219,000 during the prior week...
by Robert Brusca December 10, 2008
Output plunges in Italy and in France
In France a large part of the drop in IP is the weakened auto
sector. Output in the auto sector fell by 14.3%. Declines, as the table
shows, are widespread. The drops in output in France and in Italy are
worse than those in 2000 -2001. Output drops in France are gathering
momentum across sectors with the exception of capital goods. Italy
shows much the same situation with sequential growth rates indicating a
quickening pace of decline across sectors –the consumer sector being an
unpersuasive exception. In the quarter to date both countries show
sharp declines in output are underway in the -17% to -18% range
(annualized). Europe is in the throes of the severe output decline
phase of the recession. There are riots in Greece that mix some civil
unrest in with protests about how the economy is being managed.
| French IP excluding Construction | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saar except m/m | Oct-08 | Sep-08 | Aug-08 | 3-mo | 6-mo | 12-mo | Quarter-to-date |
| IP total | -2.7% | -0.8% | -0.5% | -14.7% | -12.3% | -7.2% | -18.3% |
| Consumer Goods | -0.4% | -0.2% | -0.6% | -4.6% | -1.8% | -3.3% | -4.3% |
| Capital Goods | -0.5% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 1.0% | -4.9% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Intermediate Goods | -3.5% | -1.7% | -0.9% | -22.0% | -16.3% | -10.1% | -26.0% |
| Memo | |||||||
| Auto | -14.3% | -5.9% | -0.2% | -58.2% | -44.4% | -29.2% | -69.3% |
| Italy IP excluding Construction | |||||||
| Saar except m/m | Oct-08 | Sep-08 | Aug-08 | 3-mo | 6-mo | 12-mo | Quarter-to-date |
| IP-MFG | -1.1% | -2.9% | 0.1% | -14.6% | -12.9% | -6.8% | -16.7% |
| Consumer Goods | 0.8% | -3.3% | 0.6% | -7.6% | -11.1% | -4.6% | -7.4% |
| Capital Goods | -1.5% | -2.7% | -1.1% | -19.1% | -18.2% | -8.7% | -19.9% |
| Intermediate Goods | -2.1% | -3.5% | 0.9% | -17.5% | -13.4% | -8.3% | -22.3% |
| Memo | |||||||
| Transportation | -5.8% | -5.6% | 1.7% | -33.4% | -30.5% | -19.8% | -42.9% |
