The latest information on manufacturing and the economy from the National Association of Manufactures and the Council of Industry
Members:
Here is the Monday Manufacturing Economy Report from NAM Chief Economist Chad Moutray for 2/19/2018. The Council of Industry, as member organization of the National Association of Manufacturers is happy to share this report with our members.
Here are some highlights from the report:
"The Federal Reserve reported that manufacturing production was unchanged in January for the second straight month. As such, output in the sector essentially has paused at the beginning of 2018, but we anticipate that this breather will be short-lived. Indeed, we expect manufacturing production to rise by 2.1 percent in 2018, up from 1.7 percent in 2017. In terms of the latest data, manufacturing production rose by 1.8 percent since January 2017, slowing from the more robust 2.3 percent pace seen in November, which likely represented a rebound in the aftermath of several hurricanes. Much like the headline number, manufacturing capacity utilization was flat in January’s report, unchanged at 76.2 percent.
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consumer and producer prices both jumped in January, primarily on higher energy costs. For manufacturers, producer prices for final demand goods jumped 0.7 percent in January, its fastest pace in two months. Led by sharply higher energy costs, which were up 3.4 percent in January, this increase was largely consistent with recent observations in the spot price for West Texas intermediate (WTI) crude oil, which increased from an average of $57.88 in December to $63.70 in January, its highest monthly average since November 2014. Excluding food and energy, producer prices for final demand goods were up by 0.2 percent in this report, increasing for the sixth consecutive month. Nonetheless, core producer prices continue to be modest at 2.4 percent. Similarly, consumer prices have risen 2.1 percent year-over-year, with core inflation up 1.8 percent since January 2017."Read Chad Moutray's Full Report Here.
