On the heels of the weakest print since May 2009 in March, April Industrial Production printed -0.3% (against expectations of a bounce to -0.03% from -0.64% – which was revised higher). This is the 5th monthly drop in a row – the longest streak since the Great Recession. This is the 2nd weakest YoY print, at a mere +1.93%, since Feb 2010. To add to the pain, Capacity Utlization missed expectations falling to its lowest since Jan 2014 (falling the most YoY since Dec 2009) and Manufacturing production was unchanged.
Worst streak of monthly drops since 2009…
2nd weakest YoY print since Feb 2010…
And Capacity Utilization plunged to its lowest since Jan 2014… with the biggest YoY decline since Dec 2009
Manufacturing output was unchanged in April, as a small increase in the production of durables was offset by a small decrease in the output of nondurables. Among durable goods industries, gains of more than 1 percent were posted by wood products; nonmetallic mineral products; electrical equipment, appliances, and components; and motor vehicles and parts. Machinery production fell 0.9 percent for the largest decrease within durables. The changes in output among nondurable goods industries were relatively smaller: Production by the food, beverage, and tobacco product industry contracted 0.6 percent for the largest decrease, while the biggest gain was registered by the index for printing and support activity, which increased 0.4 percent. The production of other manufacturing industries (publishing and logging) fell 0.4 percent.
Charts: Bloomberg
