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 Tom Moeller February 15, 2012
Industrial production was unchanged last month (3.3% y/y) following a
revised 1.1% December rise, initially reported as 0.4%. The latest figure
disappointed Consensus expectations for a 0.7% rise, according to Action
Economics. Factory sector output rose a firm 0.7% (4.6% y/y) after a
strengthened 1.5% December gain. Warm temperatures again lowered utility
output by 2.5% last month (-7.5% y/y), down for the fifth month in the
last six.
Business equipment production again was the bright spot in the factory sector. It posted a 1.8% increase after December's 1.4% rise which was double the initial estimate. During the last twelve months, output was up a strong 10.9% and equaled last year's rise. This y/y gain again reflects a one-quarter y/y rise in transit equipment, 7.5% growth in information processing & other and a 6.3% rise in industrial supplies & other. In the consumer sector where output slipped 0.1% (+0.5% y/y), auto production jumped 5.9% (17.0% y/y) while computers, video & audio posted a modest 0.5% rise (1.0% y/y). Appliance, furniture & carpeting production also ticked up 0.1% (5.9% y/y). Nondurables output fell 1.2% (-2.3% y/y), held down by energy, but clothing production recovered 2.4% (-2.8% y/y). Excluding the high-tech & motor vehicle industries, industrial production fell 0.3% last month (2.8% y/y) following a 0.8% December rise.
Capacity utilization held roughly stable m/m at 78.5%. In manufacturing alone, utilization rose m/m to 77.0%, up from the recession low of 64.4%. Overall capacity is estimated to have risen 1.2% y/y following a 2.2% decline during 2010. In the factory sector, capacity rose 0.9% y/y. It was up 0.3% excluding the high-tech industries -- after four years of decline.
Industrial production and capacity data are included in Haver's USECON database, with additional detail in the IP database. The expectations figure is in the AS1REPNA database.
Industrial Production (SA, % Change) | Jan | Dec | Nov | Jan Y/Y | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total Output | 0.0 | 1.1 | -0.1 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 5.3 | -11.2 |
Manufacturing | 0.7 | 1.5 | -0.2 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 5.4 | -13.5 |
Consumer Goods | -0.1 | 0.9 | -0.6 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 4.3 | -7.2 |
Business Equipment | 1.8 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 10.9 | 10.8 | 7.7 | -16.3 |
Construction Supplies | -0.4 | 3.0 | 0.1 | 5.3 | 5.1 | 3.8 | -22.5 |
Materials | -0.4 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 6.3 | -11.6 |
Utilities | -2.5 | -2.5 | 0.1 | -7.5 | -0.1 | 4.0 | -2.6 |
Capacity Utilization (%) | 78.5 | 78.6 | 77.9 | 76.9 | 77.3 | 74.5 | 69.1 |
Manufacturing | 77.0 | 76.5 | 75.4 | 74.3 | 74.9 | 71.7 | 66.2 |