Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Manufacturing positive, inflation-adjusted construction spending is flat

Manufacturing positive, but no longer red hot; inflation-adjusted construction spending is flat In addition to the jobs report, Friday gave us updates on manufacturing and construction. The ISM manufacturing index, and especially its new orders subindex, is an important short leading indicator for the production sector. While the index remained positive, its leading new orders […]

Manufacturing continues strong in January; construction continued to sag in December

Manufacturing continues strong in January; construction continued to sag in December As usual, the first data for last month starts out with the ISM manufacturing report. This index, especially its new orders subindex, is an important short leading indicator for the production sector.  In January the index declined from 58.8 to 57.6, as did the more […]

Fourth Quarter GDP (2021) – Strongest Year in Decades

WSJ reports Stocks rose broadly Thursday morning after the GDP report, but they retreated later in the day, with the Nasdaq falling 1.4%, the S&P 500 dropping 0.54%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average off 0.02%. Thursday’s report contained warning signs. Most of the growth owed to companies’ restocking rather than people and firms buying […]

Manufacturing still red hot; construction still very cool

Manufacturing still red hot; construction still very cool Our first November data is out this morning with the forward-looking ISM manufacturing report for October, as well as construction spending for October. Let’s take the ISM report first, since it is an important short leading indicator for the production sector, and in particular its new orders […]

Manufactuing remains white hot, while construction spending is mixed

Manufactuing remains white hot, while construction spending is mixed As usual, we started out the month with the forward-looking ISM manufacturing report for September, as well as construction spending for August. Let’s take the ISM report first since it is an important short-leading indicator for the production sector. And here, the news was good, as […]

Industrial Production Rose 0.9% in July

Industrial Production Rose 0.9% in July After Prior Four Months Were Revised Higher, RJS at MarketWatch 666 The Fed’s G17 release on Industrial production and Capacity Utilization for July indicated industrial production rose by 0.9% in July after rising by a revised 0.2% in June and a revised 0.8% in May, and is now up 6.6% from a year […]

Manufacturing and housing – turn even hotter

Two leading sectors of the economy – manufacturing, and housing – turn even hotter Last month I wrote that both the manufacturing and housing sectors were “on fire.” If anything, this month they turned white hot, with both construction spending and ISM manufacturing data at levels not seen in years. The overall ISM manufacturing reading […]

Manufacturing and construction – remain “on fire”

The two most leading sectors of the real economy – manufacturing and construction – remain “on fire” Data for January 2021 started out this morning with the ISM manufacturing index, while the December laggard of construction spending was also reported.  While the ISM manufacturing reading declined from 60.7 to 58.7, since 50 is the break-even […]

State GDP shows a manufacturing rebound in 2012

by Rebecca Wilder State GDP shows a manufacturing rebound in 2012 State GDP shows the following in 2012: durable goods manufacturing and finance and insurance are primary drivers of cross-sectional growth. This confirms the national story, according to the BEA. A state-level breakdown shows strong (a surge in) economic activity in North Dakota, Oregon, Texas, and […]