Here is a summary of this week’s Monday Economic Report:

The manufacturing economy has hit some speed bumps, according to recent data. Industrial production declined 0.5 percent in April—more than expected—with capacity utilization levels back to where we were at the beginning of the year. The slower pace of domestic and global sales has negatively impacted activity, with production down mostly across-the-board. Only four of the 19 major manufacturing sectors experienced an increase in output for the month. Moreover, annual growth in manufacturing production of just 1.3 percent is insufficient, and such low rates of industrial growth are not enough to help boost hiring and output. Ideally, we would like to see annual output growth of 4.5 percent or greater, as outlined in the NAM’s “20/20 Vision” earlier this year.

The national pullback in manufacturing activity extends to two of the regional manufacturing surveys released last week. Sentiment surveys from the New York and Philadelphia Federal Reserve Banks found contracting levels of new orders, shipments and the average workweek. In addition, manufacturers were more negative in their overall views of the current business environment. However, employment was mixed between the two reports, with a pickup in hiring reported in the Empire State survey, and manufacturers in both Fed districts were cautiously optimistic about future growth. As a result, capital investments are expected to increase in the coming months.

The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index—a forward-looking measure of the U.S. economy—rose a healthy 0.6 percent in April, with strong growth in housing permits. New residential permits exceeded the 1 million mark for the first time since June 2008, even as housing starts fell for the month. The long-term trend for the housing market remains positive, with permits data highlighting growth in future activity. Other good news can be seen in the latest University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey, with Americans reporting optimism levels not seen since mid-2007. Retail sales were also higher, even with declines in gasoline station spending due to lower petroleum costs. (continue reading…)

The Conference Board said that its Leading Economic Index rose 0.6 percent in April. The largest component of the increase stemmed from the jump in housing permits for the month, which exceeded the 1 million mark for the first time since June 2008. This factor alone added 0.4 percentage points to the Leading Economic Index. The other major factor helping to push this forward-looking measure higher were measures of credit, including the interest rate spread and the Conference Board’s index of credit conditions.

At the same time, the Leading index also highlighted some of the current weaknesses in the economy, particularly for manufacturers. Measures for new orders and the average workweek of production workers were net drags on the index. Indeed, manufacturing employment has been quite sluggish of late, with hiring unchanged in April. In addition, while consumer confidence did improve in April, it remains sub-par, lowering the index somewhat.

Meanwhile, the Coincident Economic Index – which measures the current climate – increased 0.1 percent in April. The higher figure resulted from stronger growth in nonfarm payrolls and personal income, with modest growth in new manufacturing sales. These increases, though, were mitigated by the 0.5 percent decline in industrial production in the month. As such, softness in the manufacturing sector has dampened the U.S. economy, something we continue to see in a number of economic indicators lately.

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

Consumer confidence rebounded in May, according to the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters. The Consumer Sentiment Survey’s overall index rose from 76.4 in April to 83.7 in May, its highest level since July 2007. It is also a sign that the lull that we have seen in consumer confidence since November has dissipated, at least in this preliminary figure. (A revised number, with more complete information, will be released on May 31.)

The gain in confidence was more than expected, with a consensus estimate of 78.0. Perceptions about the current and future economic environment improved, with the largest gains regarding present conditions. The index for the current situation increased from 89.9 to 97.5; whereas, the forward-looking component moved from 67.8 to 74.8.

Surveys such as this one tend to rise and fall on pocketbook issues, and manufacturers tend to focus in particular on confidence indices to see if they might impact consumer behavior. The recent declines were in large part due to fiscal uncertainties, higher payroll taxes, and persistent economic worries. These issues have not necessarily gone away, but Americans are more than likely reacting to lower energy costs, decent nonfarm payroll gains, and modest growth in the U.S. economy. Earlier in the week, we did learn that retail sales – particularly when you exclude gasoline station spending – rose, a sign that consumers have picked up their purchases of late.

Moreover, the University of Michigan data tend to mirror similar upticks in confidence from the National Federation of Independent Business on small business sentiment and the most recent consumer survey from the Conference Board.

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Business Outlook Survey contracted again in May, declining for the first time since February. The composite index of general business conditions declined from 1.3 in April to -5.2 in May. The index was brought lower by reductions in new orders, shipments, and employment. Specifically, the new orders index dropped from -1.0 to -7.9, with over one-third of respondents saying that their sales had declined in the past month.

The indices looking at current activity declined, indicating some sluggishness this month. For instance, the shipments index shifted from modest growth in April (9.1) to a modest contraction in May (-8.5). The percentage of respondents saying that their shipments had declined from the previous month increased from 18.8 percent in April to 32.4 percent in May. The average workweek, unfilled orders, and delivery times were all negative, as well.

Unlike the Empire State Manufacturing Survey from the New York Fed, which was released yesterday, manufacturers in the Philly region were hiring fewer workers in May. The index for employment declined from -6.8 to -8.7. The two surveys did agree, though, on the forward-looking hiring measures. The index of expected employment six months from now rose from 8.2 to 10.0, suggesting that manufacturers plan to increase their hiring in the coming months moderately.

Indeed, manufacturers in the Philly Fed region remain cautiously optimistic about the future. The general business activity measure for six months from now rose from 19.5 to 32.3. Almost 45 percent of those completing the survey anticipate better economic conditions in the coming months, with 36.3 expecting them to be the same. Manufacturers are also planning for increased sales, shipments, and capital spending in the second half of 2013.

Regarding inventories, 58.1 percent of those answering a special question on the topic said that their stockpiles were “about right for current economic conditions.” Just over one-quarter of them expect to decrease their inventories in the second quarter, and in fact, the forward-looking index for inventories reflects a slight contraction.

Chad Moutray is the chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

Consumer prices declined for the second straight month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The consumer price index (CPI) was down 0.4 percent in April, building on the 0.2 percent decrease in March. These declines have helped to decelerate the year-over-year pace in inflation, falling from 2.0 percent in February to 1.5 percent in March to 1.1 percent in April. This suggests that Americans have generally benefited from mild inflationary pressures, with lower energy costs helping to provide a buffer for other increases.

Indeed, the decrease in the price of gasoline was the main contributor to reduction in the CPI in both March and April, with gasoline costs down 4.4 percent and 8.1 percent in those two months, respectively. On a year-over-year basis, gasoline costs were off 8.3 percent. These declines more than offset increases in electricity and natural gas.

Food prices were up a very modest 0.2 percent, with the largest increases in cereals and baking products (up 0.6 percent) and meats, poultry, fish and eggs (up 0.4 percent). The cost of fruits and vegetables declined 1.4 percent, offsetting some past increases. Overall food costs continue to experience moderate gains, up 1.5 percent on annual basis. This represents a slight pullback from the 1.8 percent pace of December.

Core inflation, which excludes food and energy costs, remains in the acceptable range. The year-over-year pace is currently 1.7 percent, down from 1.9 percent in March and 2.0 percent in February. This is below the stated goal of the Federal Reserve Board of 2.0 percent, enabling the Federal Open Market Committee to continue to pursue expansionary policies. As such, it also mirrors the producer price index data released yesterday. Both consumers and manufacturers continue to benefit from the slower pace of growth in prices, with inflationary pressures in-check, at least for now.

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

The Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said that new residential construction declined significantly. New housing starts were down from an annualized 1,036,000 units in March to 853,000 units in April. These numbers illustrate the choppiness of the housing market from month-to-month that occurs even with seasonally-adjusted data. While the longer-term trend line remains positive (up 13.1 percent year-over-year), it is hard not to say that the construction figures were not disappointing.

The largest factor behind the decline in housing starts was the plummeting of multi-family housing starts, down from 398,000 in March to 243,000 in April. These declines appear to have taken place in all regions of the country except for the Midwest. Multi-family starts nationally are now slightly lower than they were 12 months ago, reversing the healthy gains seen in recent months. Meanwhile, new single-family construction starts decreased less dramatically, down from 623,000 to 610,000. These losses were primarily in the South. The year-over-year pace for single-family starts is still quite impressive, up 20.8 percent.

At the same time, housing permits soared to 1,017,000 annualized units in April from 890,000 in March. The permits data are important because they serve as a proxy for future construction activity, and as such, they allow us to get less worried about the declines in starts. The good news is that this is the first time that housing permits have been above 1 million since June 2008 (when they were headed lower). The year-over-year growth in housing permits between April 2012 and April 2013 was a very healthy 35.8 percent. (continue reading…)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that producer prices for finished goods were down 0.7 percent in April, extending the 0.6 percent decline in March. Lower energy prices have helped to reduce pricing pressures over much of the past year, with producer prices up just 0.6 percent from where they were 12 months ago. This year-over-year rate is down from 1.4 percent in January and 2.3 percent as recently as October. To further illustrate how inflationary pressures have eased, the year-over-year rate was 4.2 percent in January 2012, with a recent peak of 7.3 percent in July 2011. (See the attached graphic.)

Behind these figures, there were lower food and energy costs for the month. Energy costs were down 2.5 percent in April, building on the 3.4 percent decrease in March. The average price of West Texas intermediate crude oil was $92.02 per barrel in April, down from $95.31 in February and $92.94 in March. This helped to reduce energy costs at both the finished and intermediate goods levels. Meanwhile, food prices were off 0.8 percent, offsetting the increase of the same amount the month before. Reduced meat and vegetable prices were largely responsible for this decrease.

Core producer prices, which exclude food and energy costs, at the finished goods level rose a modest 0.1 percent for the month of April and were up 1.7 percent year-over-year. This number is important, as it indicates that inflationary pressures remain below the Federal Reserve Board’s stated target of 2 percent or less. This frees the Federal Open Market Committee to pursue “highly accommodative” policies to attempt to stimulate economic growth, such as it reiterated at the last meeting.

For manufacturers, the reduction in pricing pressures has been extremely helpful. Raw material costs for the sector fell 0.2 percent in April, and year-over-year, producer prices were down 0.3 percent. The largest decline was in the petroleum and coal products sector, down 1.7 percent for the month and 9.3 percent on an annual basis.

This is not to suggest that rising costs are not still an issue, as they are for some segments of the industry. On a year-over-year basis, the following sectors have seen the fastest growth: wood products (up 10.6 percent), nonmetallic mineral products (up 3.2 percent), food (up 2.5 percent), and beverage and tobacco (up 2.4 percent) manufacturing. At the opposite end of the spectrum, primary metals manufacturers have seen their input costs fall 6.0 percent over the past 12 months.

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

The Federal Reserve Board said that industrial production declined 0.5 percent in April, more than double the consensus expectation of 0.2 percent. For manufacturers, production activity fell 0.4 percent in April, after a 0.3 decrease in March. This was the third time so far in 2013 that manufacturing production has contracted, decelerating the year-over-year pace from 2.4 percent growth in December to 1.3 percent in April.

Manufacturing capacity has also fallen, down from 78.3 percent in March to 77.8 percent in April. This brings the utilization rate back to where it was at year’s end, erasing the capacity gains seen in the first four months of 2013.

Durable goods production fell 0.4 percent; whereas, production in the nondurable goods industries fell 0.1 percent. Declining levels of manufacturing activity were mostly across-the-board, with only four of the 19 major sectors experiencing a gain for the month. The four sectors with higher production in the month were plastics and rubber products (up 0.4 percent), chemicals (up 0.2 percent), computer and electronic products (up 0.2 percent), and food and beverages (up 0.2 percent).

The largest declines were seen in the nonmetallic mineral products (down 1.7 percent), apparel and leather (down 1.6 percent), petroleum and coal products (down 1.5 percent), motor vehicle and parts (down 1.3 percent), and miscellaneous durable goods (down 1.1 percent) sectors.

When combined with Empire State Manufacturing Survey data out this morning, we get a true sense of just the sluggishness of growth for the sector right now. With exports that are barely growing and domestic sales softened by higher payroll taxes, it is clear that the manufacturing sector has still not emerged from pullback in activity that we began to see in the second half of last year. Uncertainties about the economy and the impact of government budget cuts continue to persist, preventing manufacturers from making large gains to output and employment. (continue reading…)

The New York Federal Reserve Bank found that manufacturing new orders and business conditions were lower in May. The Empire State Manufacturing Survey’s composite index of general business activity declined from 3.1 in April to -1.4 in May. This is the first contracting level for the index’s main measure since January, ending three months of growth. Still, more than anything, this statistic mostly observed how manufacturing activity has mostly stagnated in the past month or so. Indeed, 48.5 percent of survey respondents said that conditions had not changed, with those saying that they were better or worse nearly offsetting one another at 25.0 percent and 26.5 percent, respectively.

The subcomponents of the index tend to back this view up. The pace of new orders declined modestly on net, with its index down from 2.2 to -1.2. Other contracting figures included shipments (-0.02), unfilled orders (-6.8), delivery times (-3.4), inventories (-8.0), and the average workweek (-1.1). Pricing pressures eased somewhat for the month (down from 28.4 to 20.5), but still suggest decent growth. Nearly two-thirds of survey respondents, though, suggest that raw material prices had not changed in the past month.

Even as the average workweek was lower, it appears that manufacturers continue to hire, with its index down just modestly from 6.8 to 5.7. While 71.6 percent of respondents said that their employment levels had not changed in the past month, 17.1 percent noted increases, and 11.4 percent reported declines. Still, the net growth in hiring is perhaps surprising given the sluggishness of employment growth nationally and the other weaknesses in the Empire State survey.

Continued hiring could perhaps be explained by cautious optimism in the forward-looking measures. Those manufacturers in the New York Fed’s survey who complete this survey remain positive – albeit less so than last month – about increases in new orders, shipments, employment, and capital spending plans. One-quarter of respondents plan to hire more workers, over one-third expect to increase their capital investments, and nearly 40 percent anticipate higher sales.

Chad Moutray is the chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported that small business owner sentiment moved higher last month. The Small Business Optimism Index rose from 89.5 in March to 92.1 in April, its highest level in six months. As you might expect, an improved sales outlook helped to lift these figures, with the net percentage of respondents expecting higher sales increasing from -4 percent to +4 percent. In addition, small businesses appear to be more willing to increase hiring, as well, with the net percentage planning to hire in the next three months rising from zero in March to 6 percent in April.

This does not mean, however, that small businesses have moved beyond their challenges. Keep in mind that small businesses are said to be growing strongly when the Optimism Index exceeds 100, so we are still quite a way from that. Indeed, the net percentage of business owners saying that the next three months were a “good time to expand” was unchanged at four percent. As with past reports, the top reasons cited for it not being a good time to expand were economic uncertainties and the political climate. (continue reading…)