- December IP +0.4% (+2.0% y/y), third m/m rise in four months, led by a 2.6% gain in utilities.
- Manufacturing +0.2% (+2.0% y/y), w/ durables +0.1% and nondurables +0.3%.
- Selected high-tech +0.7%, third consecutive m/m rise; motor vehicles -1.1%, fourth straight m/m fall.
- Mining -0.7%, third m/m decline in four months.
- Key categories in market groups mostly increase.
- Capacity utilization at a five-month-high 76.3%; mfg. capacity utilization steady at 75.6%.
Introducing
Winnie Tapasanun
in:Our Authors
Winnie Tapasanun has been working for Haver Analytics since 2013. She has 20+ years of working in the financial services industry. As Vice President and Economic Analyst at Globicus International, Inc., a New York-based company specializing in macroeconomics and financial markets, Winnie oversaw the company’s business operations, managed financial and economic data, and wrote daily reports on macroeconomics and financial markets. Prior to working at Globicus, she was Investment Promotion Officer at the New York Office of the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) where she wrote monthly reports on the U.S. economic outlook, wrote reports on the outlook of key U.S. industries, and assisted investors on doing business and investment in Thailand. Prior to joining the BOI, she was Adjunct Professor teaching International Political Economy/International Relations at the City College of New York. Prior to her teaching experience at the CCNY, Winnie successfully completed internships at the United Nations. Winnie holds an MA Degree from Long Island University, New York. She also did graduate studies at Columbia University in the City of New York and doctoral requirements at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Her areas of specialization are international political economy, macroeconomics, financial markets, political economy, international relations, and business development/business strategy. Her regional specialization includes, but not limited to, Southeast Asia and East Asia. Winnie is bilingual in English and Thai with competency in French. She loves to travel (~30 countries) to better understand each country’s unique economy, fascinating culture and people as well as the global economy as a whole.
Publications by Winnie Tapasanun
- General Business Conditions Index up 11.4 pts. to 7.7 in January.
- Positive: Shipments (16.3, highest since Nov. ’24) and new orders (6.6).
- Negative: Employment (-9.0, lowest since Jan. ’24), unfilled orders (-8.2), and inventories (-2.1, a four-month low).
- Prices paid at a 10-month-low 42.8 and prices received at a one-year-low 14.4.
- Firms fairly optimistic: Future Business Conditions Index down to a still-positive 30.3; future prices paid at a one-year-low 52.6.
USA| Jan 14 2026U.S. Retail Sales Rise More Than Expected in November
- November total retail sales +0.6% (+3.3% y/y); fifth m/m gain in six months.
- Ex-auto sales +0.5% (+4.3% y/y); auto sales +1.0% (-0.7% y/y).
- Gains m/m: sporting goods (+1.9%), misc. stores (+1.7%), gasoline stations (+1.4%), and bldg. materials (+1.3%).
- Declines m/m: department stores (-2.9%) and furniture stores (-0.1%).
- October sales -0.1% (+18.7% y/y) to 737,000; still 42.0% above the July ’22 low.
- Sales fall m/m in all major regions except the South (+16.9%).
- Median sales price down to $392,300, lowest since July ’21; avg. price up to $498,000.
- Months' supply of new homes for sale holds steady at 7.9 mths., lowest since Sept. '24.
- Housing starts -4.6% (-7.8% y/y) to 1.246 mil. in Oct.; second m/m fall in three months.
- Single-family starts up to a three-month high; multi-family starts down to a five-month low.
- Housing starts m/m down the West and Northeast but up in the South and Midwest.
- Building permits fall for the sixth time in seven months, led by a drop in single-family permits.
USA| Jan 07 2026U.S. ADP Private Employment Rebounds in December
- Private payrolls +41K; second m/m increase in three months.
- Hiring increase is driven by medium-sized businesses (+34K).
- Service-sector jobs up (+44K), led by education & health svs. (+39K) and leisure & hosp. (+24K); goods-producing jobs dip (-3K).
- Wage growth accelerates y/y for job changers (6.6%) but steady for job stayers (4.4%).
- ISM Mfg. PMI down to 47.9 in Dec., below forecasts; 10th straight month of contraction.
- Production (51.0) expands for the third time in four months.
- New orders (47.7) contract for the fourth successive month.
- Employment (44.9) contracts for the 11th consecutive month.
- Prices Index (unchanged at 58.5) indicates prices rise for the 15th straight month; exports & imports continue to contract.
- FHFA HPI +0.4% m/m (+1.7% y/y) in Oct.; second m/m gain in three months.
- House prices up m/m in seven of nine census divisions but down in East South Central (-0.4%) and South Atlantic (-0.2%).
- House prices up y/y in seven of nine regions, led by Middle Atlantic (+5.3%), but down in West South Central (-0.7%) and South Atlantic (-0.5%).
USA| Dec 29 2025Texas General Business Activity Still Negative in December, But Expectations Remain Positive
- General Business Activity down in Dec. to -10.9, lowest level since June.
- Company Outlook (-11.9) negative for the fourth straight mth. and at an eight-month low; Production (-3.2) negative for the first time since Feb.
- New Orders Growth (-16.0) and New Orders (-6.4) at a six-month low.
- Employment (-1.1) negative for the first time since Sept.
- Prices Received down 2.6 pts. to 8.2; Prices Paid up 0.7 pts. to a three-month-high 36.0.
- Future General Business Activity down to 10.8, still positive for the eighth consecutive mth.
- PHSI +3.3% (+2.6% y/y) in Nov., driven by lower mortgage rates.
- Home sales m/m up in all four major regions, w/ the highest rate in the West (+9.2%).
- Home sales y/y up across all regions, w/ the highest rate in the South (+3.3%).
- October total retail sales +0.03% (+3.5% y/y), w/ mixed results across categories.
- Ex-auto sales +0.4% (+4.0% y/y); auto sales -1.6% (+1.2% y/y).
- Sales rebound m/m in department stores (+4.9%) and furniture stores (+2.3%).
- Sales drop m/m in bldg. materials & garden equipt. stores (-0.9%) and gasoline stations (-0.8%).
- December General Business Conditions Index down 22.6 pts. to -3.9.
- Unfilled orders (-14.9) and shipments (-5.7) negative; employment (7.3, highest since July) and inventories (4.0) positive; new orders flat (0.0).
- Prices paid at an 11-month-low 37.6 and prices received at a 10-month-low 19.8, still elevated.
- Firms optimistic: Future Business Conditions Index at an 11-month-high 35.7 and future prices paid at an 11-month-low 55.4.
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