In February, US industrial production rose for the eighth consecutive month while a flat outcome was expected. On a monthly basis, industrial production rose by 0.1% M/M. Looking at the details, manufacturing production fell by 0.2% M/M due to a 4.4% M/M decline in motor vehicles & parts, while utilities (0.5% M/M) and mining (2.0% M/M) rose. The snowstorms probably hit manufacturing activity as a whole in February, but less than was expected. In the coming months, vehicle production might is expected to remain weak as Toyota has announced new temporary shutdowns.
After a significant increase in February, the NY Empire State manufacturing index fell back slightly in March. The headline index dropped from 24.91 to 22.86, marginally above the consensus estimate of 22.00. The details showed a different picture as all sub-indices improved compared to the previous months. New orders (25.43 from 8.78), shipments (25.58 from 15.14) and number of employees (12.35 from 5.56) rose sharply, but also delivery time, inventories, unfilled orders and average workweek increased. Price indices showed a mixed picture as prices received rose (8.64 from 4.17); while prices paid dropped (29.63 from 31.94). Although the headline index showed that growth slows, the details signal a strong trend in the manufacturing sector.
EMU: Decline in employment slowed in Q4
In the euro zone, employment fell for the sixth consecutive quarter in the final quarter of 2009. The number of people employed in the euro area fell by 0.2% Q/Q after a decline by 0.3% Q/Q in the third quarter of 2009. Employment fell in manufacturing (-1.1% Q/Q), construction (-0.4% Q/Q), trade, transport and communication services (-0.5% Q/Q) and financial services & business activities (-0.1% Q/Q), while employment in agriculture (0.5% Q/Q) and other services (0.2% Q/Q) grew. Over the whole of 2009, employment decreased by 1.8% or 2 721 000 persons. The fourth-quarter decline was the smallest since the third quarter of 2008, which indicates that the fall in employment is slowing.
