Click image
for larger version
Total
industrial
production (IP) decreased 0.6% in March for a second month in a row (-0.1% expected).
For 1Q2016 as a whole, IP fell at an annual rate of 2.2%. A substantial portion
of the overall March decrease resulted from declines in the indexes for mining
and utilities, which fell 2.9% and 1.2%, respectively; in addition,
manufacturing output fell 0.3%. The sizable decrease in mining production
continued the industry's recent downward trajectory; the index has fallen in
each of the past seven months, at an average pace of 1.6% per month. At 103.4%
of its 2012 average, total IP in March was 2.0% below its year-earlier level.
Industry Groups
Manufacturing
output decreased 0.3% in March. The production of durables moved down 0.4% (Wood Products: -1.0%). The largest
declines, about 1.5%, were registered both by motor vehicles and parts and by
electrical equipment, appliances, and components. Several industries posted
increases, with the largest, nearly 1%, for computer and electronic products.
After increasing 0.9% in January and decreasing 0.5% in February, the output of
nondurable manufacturing edged down in March (Paper: -0.6%), as gains in the production of petroleum and coal
products and of chemicals nearly offset declines for most other industries. The
output of other manufacturing (publishing and logging) fell almost 1%. For the
first quarter, manufacturing output moved up at an annual rate of 0.6%, roughly
reversing its small decrease in the fourth quarter of last year.
The
drop of almost 3% in mining output was its largest monthly loss since September
2008, when production was curtailed because of hurricanes. The decline reflected
substantial cutbacks in coal mining and in oil and gas well drilling and
servicing, as well as decreases in oil and natural gas extraction. The index
for mining has fallen nearly 13% over the past 12 months. The index for
utilities moved down again, primarily because of a drop of 4.6% for natural gas
utilities.
Click image
for larger version
Click image
for larger version
Click image
for larger version
Capacity
utilization (CU) for the industrial sector decreased 0.6% (to 74.8%), a rate
that is 5.2 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2015) average.
Manufacturing
CU fell 0.3% to 75.1%, a rate that is 3.4 percentage points below its long-run
average. The operating rates for durables, nondurables, and other manufacturing
(publishing and logging) each decreased. The operating rates for both mining
and utilities dropped to 73.7%, the lowest rates over the histories of these
series. Wood Products fell 1.3% and
Paper -0.5%.
Capacity
utilization (CU) for the industrial sector decreased 0.6% (to 74.8%), a rate
that is 5.2 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2015) average.
Manufacturing
CU fell 0.3% to 75.1%, a rate that is 3.4 percentage points below its long-run
average. The operating rates for durables, nondurables, and other manufacturing
(publishing and logging) each decreased. The operating rates for both mining
and utilities dropped to 73.7%, the lowest rates over the histories of these
series. Wood Products fell 1.3% and
Paper -0.5%.
Click image
for larger version
Capacity
at the all-industries level was unchanged (+1.2% YoY) at 138.1% of 2012 output.
Manufacturing edged up +0.1% (+1.0% YoY) to 137.4%. Wood Products extended the upward trend that has been ongoing since
November 2013 when increasing by 0.3% (+4.6% YoY) to 164.7%. Paper edged down 0.1% (-0.5% YoY) to 117.3%.
The foregoing comments represent the
general economic views and analysis of Delphi Advisors, and are provided solely
for the purpose of information, instruction and discourse. They do not
constitute a solicitation or recommendation regarding any investment.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.