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Economy in Brief
German PPI Accelerates
The German year-on-year PPI has generally been decelerating since early 2017...
U.S. Leading Economic Indicators Signal Continued Expansion
The Conference Board's Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators increased 0.3% during March...
Philadelphia Fed Factory Conditions Improve; Prices Jump
The Philadelphia Fed reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index rose to 23.2 during April...
U.S. Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Are Little Changed
Initial unemployment insurance claims slipped to 232,000 (-6.1% y/y) during the week ended April 14...
U.K. Retail Sales Fall
U.K. GDP is expected to cool its jets when the first quarter GDP number is released...
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 |
