Posted August 17, 2010
Industrial production rises in July
Industrial production rose 1.0 percent in July after having edged down 0.1 percent in June.
Manufacturing output moved up 1.1 percent in July after having fallen 0.5 percent in June. A large contributor to the jump in manufacturing output in July was an increase of nearly 10 percent in the production of motor vehicles and parts; even so, manufacturing production excluding motor vehicles and parts advanced 0.6 percent.
The production index for durable goods manufacturing jumped 2.1 percent in July. Increases were widespread among its major categories, with the largest occurring in motor vehicles and parts and in nonmetallic mineral products. In addition, fabricated metal products, machinery, computers and electronic products, aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment, and miscellaneous manufacturing all recorded gains of between 1.0 and 2.0 percent. The only output decreases among major durable goods industries were in wood products and in electrical equipment, appliances, and components.
"While signs of slowing in both the general economy and in manufacturing have become apparent in recent months, the industrial production report for July shows that the shaky U.S. economic recovery has yet to fully impede the strong factory sector rebound," said Cliff Waldman, economist for the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, regarding the industrial production report for July 2010.
"If U.S. and global economic growth slips below the pace needed for at least moderate job growth and sustainable demand, then the strong factory sector recovery in the U.S. will certainly slow," he concluded, "impacting many key trading partners in North America and elsewhere whose economic prospects are, to some extent, tied to U.S. manufacturing."
