Manufacturing declines in November
Written on December 18, 2008
Manufacturers are ending a bruising year with a new round of bad news and grim outlooks for 2009.
Industrial production fell 0.6 percent in November as the country’s output of cars, automotive goods, home electronics, appliances and furniture tumbled in the face of declining orders, the Federal Reserve reported Monday. Consumers and commercial buyers reduced their spending in the face of the worst economic slowdown in two decades. Industrial production had risen 1.5 percent in October, revised up from an initial increase of 1.3 percent.
The Fed’s manufacturing report did list some bright spots. The output of mines and electric and natural gas utilities increased despite slumping energy prices as drilling and extraction recovered from shutdowns after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike raked the Gulf Coast. And the output of transit equipment surged 40 percent in November after Boeing restarted factories that had been idle during a monthlong Machinists’ strike.
The disturbing message behind the data was that even a rebound from rare events such as hurricanes and labor strikes could not buoy the country’s overall industrial output for November, said Stephen Stanley, chief United States economist at RBS Greenwich.
"I think it’s an indication of extreme contraction in the manufacturing sector," he said guaranteed payday loans. "Right now, I think people are sitting on their hands."
Capacity utilization, the percentage of plants in use, fell to 75.4 percent from 76 percent in October.
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey, a closely watched gauge of production in New York state, slid to a record low in December as sales deteriorated, new orders and shipments continued to slump and the number of unfilled orders dropped to record lows.
Nearly half of the manufacturers interviewed for the monthly survey said that business conditions worsened in December and said they were scaling back their work forces.
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