Recent Updates
- US: Kansas City Fed Mfg Survey (May)
- US: Pending Home Sales Index (Apr)
- US: GDP and Corporate Profits (Q1, 2nd release)
- Canada: Retail Trade, Payroll Employment (Mar)
- South Africa: PPI (Apr) Government Debt (Apr-Prelim)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index Dips in May But Remains Strong
The Kansas City Fed reported that its manufacturing sector business activity index declined to 23 in May...
U.S. Pending Home Sales Decline Sharply in April
Home buying remains under pressure...
U.S. Unemployment Claims Eased Slightly in the Latest Week
Initial claims for unemployment insurance filed in the week ended May 21 were 210,000 (-52.4% y/y)...
U.S. Durable Goods Orders Increase Modestly in April
Manufacturers' new orders for durable goods increased 0.4% during April (12.2% y/y)...
U.S. Mortgage Applications Continue to Weaken
The MBA Loan Applications Index fell 1.2% (-54.5% y/y) in the week ended May 20...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
State Coincident Indexes in April 2022
State Labor Markets in April 2022
Profits & Margins Plunge In Q1: Expect More Margin Contraction As Fed Squeezes Inflation
The Many Links of Inflation Cycle: Hard Landing Is Needed to Crack Them
Peak Inflation and Fed Policy: A Relationship which Should Worry the Fed and Scare Investors
by Robert Brusca January 9, 2012
The profile in the chart of year-over-year growth rates is unmistakable. The trends in the table are clear as well.
In terms of growth rates from one year in and shorter, only construction and consumer goods are showing any
resilience and those sectors are not lively enough to swim against the current of marked weakness in other
sectors. Overall MFG IP is off at a 10% annual rate over the most recent three-months and is showing
pronounced deceleration. Its capital goods and intermediate goods sectors underpin that trend. The
trend for industrial orders continues to point the way lower as well.
In the current quarter the growth rates tell a story of a broad-based decline in output in Q4 compared to Q3. Only the construction sector is escaping the collapse in output.
The one exception to this sour trend is found in the export sector where today’s trade report showed a larger trade surplus as German as exports revived to surge by 2.5% after plunging by 2.9% in October. Yr/Yr Germany exports continue to outpace imports, growing by 8.4% compared to import’s 6.9% advance. But even this is false victory since the export rise did not offset the drop from the month before. Export orders in Germany have become very volatile at year end and the same effect seems to be playing out for exports. The various reports are of one voice on encroaching economic weakness. The PMI indices for Germany have signaled a month of moderation in the ongoing unraveling but that only serves to muddy the waters on how weak things are and about whether conditions will continue to deteriorate at a more rapid pace again next month or not.
The rest of Europe is weak with many countries still fighting for control of their finances, Greece still has not been able to complete its bail out and its debt forgiveness deal In Italy bond yields are surging again. Spain and Portugal are struggling to meet austerity targets even as their economies weaken further. France seem on the verge of losing its AAA rating. And if the Zone cannot come to terms with some compromise, a workable compromise, its fracture will spread more discord and fuel the move to weakness. Thus is the start of 2012.
Total German IP | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SAAR Except M/M | Nov-11 | Oct-11 | Sep-11 | 3Mo | 6Mo | 12Mo | Q-2-D |
IP total | -0.6% | 0.8% | -2.8% | -10.0% | -1.4% | 3.6% | -7.2% |
Consumer | -0.7% | -0.1% | 1.4% | 2.4% | -5.8% | -0.3% | -4.6% |
Capital | -1.0% | 1.7% | -4.6% | -14.8% | -0.3% | 7.2% | -7.4% |
Intermed | -1.4% | -0.2% | -2.7% | -15.7% | -3.2% | 2.9% | -12.5% |
Memo | |||||||
Construction | 4.5% | 1.6% | -1.4% | 20.2% | 6.5% | 10.9% | 11.7% |
MFG IP | -1.0% | 0.6% | -2.8% | -12.0% | -2.2% | 4.3% | -8.8% |
Real MFG Orders | -4.8% | 5.0% | 0.0 | -17.0% | -14.2% | -4.3% | -5.2% |