May 2007

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods increased 0.7 percent in April, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported.&nbsp ; This advance followed a 1.0-percent rise in March and a 1.3-percent increase in February.&nbsp ; In April, the index for finished goods excluding foods and energy remained unchanged for the second consecutive month.&nbsp ; At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by producers of intermediate goods rose 0.9 percent following a 1.0-percent increase a month earlier, and the crude goods index fell 1.5 percent after increasing 3.2 percent in March.

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Among finished goods, prices for consumer foods moved up 0.4 percent in April following a 1.4-percent increase in the previous month, while …

Economic growth in the U.S. is sustainable throughout the remainder of 2007, say the nation’s purchasing and supply executives in their spring 2007 Semiannual Economic Forecast. Expectations for the remainder of 2007 are encouraging in both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors.
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These projections are part of the forecast issued by the Business Survey Committee of the Institute for Supply Management.
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Manufacturing Summary
The survey panel of purchasing and supply management executives remains optimistic with 62 percent of respondents predicting revenues to be greater in 2007 than in 2006. This is reflected in their expectations of a 5.6 percent net increase in revenues for the period. To support the revenue growth expectations, …

Sales
March 2007 sales of merchant wholesalers, except manufacturers’sales branches and offices, after adjustment for seasonal variations and trading-day differences but not for price changes, were $346.3 billion, up 1.8 percent (+/-0.5%) from the revised February level and were up 8.4 percent (+/-1.3%) from the March 2006 level. The February preliminary estimate was revised downward $0.6 billion or 0.2 percent.&nbsp ;
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March sales of durable goods were up 2.1 percent (+/-1.0%) from last month and were up 6.6 percent (+/-2.0%) from a year ago.&nbsp ; Compared to last month, sales of computer and computer peripheral equipment and supplies were up 6.1 percent and sales of lumber and other construction materials increased 5.9 percent.&nbsp ;
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March …