April 2009

The manufacturing sector once again contracted in April, according to the latest Manufacturing ISM Report on Business.
 
The decline in the manufacturing sector however has moderated, says the Institute for Supply Management. After six months below the 40% mark, the PMI, driven by the New Orders Index at 47.2%, has shown improvement at 40.1%.
 
Still, ISM reports that "a large gap must be closed before manufacturing begins to grow once again. The Customers’ Inventories Index indicates that channels are paring inventories to acceptable levels after reporting inventories as ‘too high’ for eight consecutive months. The prices manufacturers pay for their goods and services continue to decline; however, copper prices have bottomed and are now starting to …

Real gross domestic product – the output of goods and services produced by labor and property
located in the U.S. – decreased at an annual rate of 6.1 percent in the first quarter of 2009, (from the fourth quarter to the first quarter), according to advance estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter, real GDP decreased 6.3 percent.
 
The Bureau emphasized that the first-quarter advance estimates are based on source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency. The first-quarter “preliminary” estimates, based on more comprehensive data, will be released on May 29, 2009.
 
The decrease in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected negative contributions …

New orders for manufactured durable goods in March decreased $1.3 billion or 0.8 percent to $161.2 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced in its advance report. This was the seventh decrease in the last eight months and followed a 2.1 percent February increase. Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 0.6 percent. Excluding defense, new orders also decreased 0.6 percent.
 
Shipments of manufactured durable goods in March, down eight consecutive months, decreased $3.0 billion or 1.7 percent to $175.0 billion. This followed a 0.8 percent February decrease.
 
Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in March, down six consecutive months, decreased $11.2 billion or 1.4 percent to $760.3 billion. This followed a 1.6 percent February decrease. …

The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index fell 2.4% in March, to a seasonally adjusted level of 82.0 (2002 = 100). Revised data show the index decreased 0.4% in February, to 84.0.
 
The Federal Reserve Board’s industrial production index for manufacturing fell 1.7% in March. Regional output in March was down 23.2% from a year earlier – lower than the 14.9% decrease in national output.
 
The region’s steel sector output dropped 5.5% in March after falling 4.3% in February. The nation’s steel output was down 3.8% in March. Regional steel output dropped 34.1% from its March 2008 level, and national steel output fell 24.2%.
 
The Midwest’s machinery sector output also declined 5.5% in March after moving down 4.9% in February. …