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Economy in Brief
U.S. Current Account Deficit Declines
The U.S. current account deficit fell to $101.5 billion
during Q2 2018 from $121.7 billion in Q1...
UK Inflation Perks Up Unexpectedly
The UK inflation rate rose unexpectedly in August headline inflation zoomed to a 2.7% annual rate...
U.S. Home Builder Index Holds Steady
The Composite Housing Market Index from the National
Association of Home Builders-Wells Fargo remained unchanged during September at 67...
U.S. Energy Product Prices Drift Sideways
Canadian Factory Sector Looks Solid
Canadian factory orders fell for the second month in a row in July but because of an order surge back in May...
Special Topics
by Tom Moeller April 18, 2017
Industrial production strengthened 0.5% during March (1.6% y/y) following a 0.1% February uptick, revised from no change. A 0.4% increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Earlier figures reflect benchmark revisions. Manufacturing sector output declined 0.4% (+0.8% y/y) and reversed February's 0.3% increase. Utilities output surged 8.6% (4.6% y/y). Mining output improved 0.1% (3.0% y/y) following strong gains during the prior two months.
Production of final products rose 0.8% (1.3% y/y) after two months of decline. Output of construction supplies declined 0.8% (+2.3% y/y) following two months of 1.4% increase. Business equipment also fell 0.4% (+0.7% y/y) following little change during the prior two months. A 1.2% increase (1.3% y/y) in consumer goods production offset this weakness. Nondurable, nonenergy consumer goods production rose 0.2% (-0.7% y/y) driven by a 1.2% rise (-3.0% y/y) in chemical output. Clothing production fell, however, by 1.6% (-6.5% y/y). Durable consumer goods output declined 1.7% (+2.1% y/y), as auto production fell 2.5%(+2.9% y/y). Output of computers, audio and video product production gained 0.5% (1.6% y/y) after falling for two months.
Materials production increased 0.4% (1.6% y/y), held back by a 1.0% decline (-0.5% y/y) in textile product output. Production of energy materials jumped 2.0% (2.4% y/y), but durable materials production fell 0.9% (+1.6% y/y).
Amongst the special aggregate series, high-technology product production increased 0.4% (5.8% y/y) after two months of decline. Factory output excluding high technology products fell 0.5% (+0.6% y/y). Factory output excluding both high-tech and motor vehicles eased 0.2% (+0.6% y/y).
Capacity utilization increased to 76.1%, its highest point since January 2016. Factory sector utilization, however, fell to 75.3%, its lowest point in three months. Factory sector capacity rose a steady 0.7% y/y.
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.
The End of China's Export Juggernaut from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is available here.
| Industrial Production (SA, % Change) | Mar | Feb | Jan | Mar Y/Y | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Output | 0.5 | 0.1 | -0.3 | 1.6 | -1.2 | -0.7 | 3.1 |
| Manufacturing | -0.4 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.8 | -0.0 | 0.1 | 1.2 |
| Consumer Goods | 1.2 | -0.7 | -1.1 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 0.8 |
| Business Equipment | -0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.7 | -1.8 | -0.9 | 1.9 |
| Construction Supplies | -0.8 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 3.4 |
| Materials | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 1.6 | -2.3 | -1.4 | 5.1 |
| Utilities | 8.6 | -5.8 | -6.8 | 4.6 | -0.3 | -0.7 | 1.4 |
| Mining | 0.1 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 3.0 | -9.1 | -4.3 | 10.7 |
| Capacity Utilization (%) | 76.1 | 75.7 | 75.7 | 75.4 | 75.7 | 76.8 | 78.6 |
| Manufacturing | 75.3 | 75.6 | 75.4 | 75.2 | 75.1 | 75.5 | 75.4 |
