March 2008

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 0.6% in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to final estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 4.9%.
 
The GDP estimates released today are based on more complete source data than were available for the preliminary estimates issued last month. In the preliminary estimates, the increase in real GDP was also 0.6%.
 
The increase in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE), exports, nonresidential structures, state and local government spending, and equipment and software that were largely offset by …

Durable goods orders fell 1.7% in February, with nondefense capital goods orders excluding aircraft falling 2.6%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. More details here.
 
“A scenario of economic uncertainty and tightened credit availability, amid high and rising costs for energy and other commodities, is not a conducive environment for business investment in capital equipment,”said Daniel Meckstroth, chief economist for the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI. 

“…  Manufacturing capacity utilization is declining, and the indicator of slack in the nonindustrial economy, the unemployment rate, is rising. The need for domestic capacity is waning. An important support for the industrial equipment sector is that …