2007

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in June for the fifth consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 68th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.&nbsp ;

Following a weak first quarter, the manufacturing sector rebounded in a strong fashion during the second quarter. In June, manufacturing expanded at its fastest pace since April 2006 when the PMI Index registered 56.9. This performance appears sustainable in the third quarter due to the current strength in New Orders and Production.&nbsp ;

The 12 industries reporting growth in June & mdash; listed in order & mdash; are: Petroleum & Coal Products; Chemical Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Food, Beverage …

Real gross domestic product -the output of goods and services produced by labor and property in the U.S. -increased at an annual rate of 0.7% in the first quarter of 2007, according to final estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.&nbsp ; In the fourth quarter, real GDP increased 2.5%.
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The GDP estimates released today are based on more complete source data than were available for the preliminary estimates issued last month.&nbsp ; In the preliminary estimates, the increase in real GDP was 0.6%.
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The increase in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures and state and local government spending that were partly offset by negative contributions from private inventory investment, …

Influenced by the strength of the Canadian dollar, prices in Canada for manufactured products declined in May after six consecutive monthly increases. Crude oil pushed down prices for raw materials.
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From April to May, prices charged by manufacturers, as measured by the Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI), registered a&nbsp ; 0.5% decline after six consecutive monthly increases. The decrease in prices basically reflects a drop in the prices for motor vehicles and other transportation equipment as well as primary metal products and pulp and paper products.
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However, higher prices for petroleum and coal products tempered the decline in the Industrial Product Price Index.
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On a 12-month basis, the IPPI advanced&nbsp ; 3%, a slowdown from the&nbsp …