New Fed Figures Show Manufacturing Nearing a Recession and Automotive in One

Equities ^ | January 18, 2016 | Alan Tonelson

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Despite recent gloomy private sector and regional Fed surveys, the Federal Reserve's new December industrial production figures revealed that real manufacturing output dropped a bare 0.05 percent on month, and revisions barely worsened the picture. Yet the weak year-end number left such output down on net for five months - one short of a technical recession. And the automotive sector, which has led industry's post-Great Recession comeback, sank into technical recession. Full-year 2015 manufacturing after-inflation growth of 0.74 percent was the lowest such figure since the last recession began, and less than 20 percent as strong as 2014's 4.16 percent increase. Since the Great Recession began eight years ago, manufacturing's inflation-adjusted output is still down 1.51 percent.

Here are the manufacturing highlights of the Federal Reserve's new release on December industrial production:

>Manufacturing's inflation-adjusted output dipped in December by only 0.05 percent on month, and despite grim recent regional Fed and private sector survey reports, revisions were only slightly negative. Nonetheless, real output levels are now down on net over a five-month period by 0.04 percent, meaning the sector is approaching a technical recession (two straight quarters of cumulative output decline).

>In addition, the automotive sector, which has led manufacturing's bounce-back following a deep post-financial crisis dive, fell into technical recession, with real output down on net 1.26 percent since last May. The sub-sector's fall-off was led by vehicle production, where a 3.19 percent sequential drop was the biggest monthly decrease since August's 7.92 percent....

[SunkenCiv]

The Obama Recession

to go with

The Obama Tax Hikes

"Hey! Wait just a minute! I'm NOT just about the economy, stupid! What about Gun Confiscation! Flooding the US with Illegals? Surrendering to Iran? Bailing on every US Ally? and of course, Death to America?"