Econintersect: Manufacturing still growing in the Midwest despite slowdowns in other sectors of the economy.
The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index (CFMMI) increased 0.6% in May, to a seasonally adjusted level of 84.0 (2007 = 100). Revised data show the index decreased 0.9% in April to 83.6. The Federal Reserve Board’s industrial production index for manufacturing (IPMFG) increased 0.4% in May. Regional output in May rose 7.1% from a year earlier, and national output increased 4.1%.
This release reminds us that Industrial Production (IP) released by the Federal Reserve is much broader than manufacturing (including mining and utility production) – and IP may have been flat for the last two months (analysis here) but manufacturing itself was expanding.
But as the Chicago Fed points out, manufacturing remains in an uptrend for most of 2011. Individual sectors:
- Regional steel sector output increased 1.6%;
- Regional machinery sector production rose 1.1%;
- Regional auto sector production improved 0.8%; and
- Regional resource sector output decreased 0.5%.
source: Chicago Fed
