US industrial production experienced a downturn for the third consecutive month in November, despite a rebound in the manufacturing sector, as reported by the Federal Reserve on Tuesday. Industrial output decreased by 0.1% in November, following a more significant decline of 0.4% in October. Forecasts had predicted a 0.3% increase, as indicated by a survey compiled by Bloomberg.
Year-on-year, industrial production has seen a decline of 0.9% as of November. Manufacturing output displayed a marginal increase of 0.2% last month, a recovery after a previous 0.7% decrease. The durable manufacturing index recorded a gain of 0.7%, reversing declines in the preceding two months. However, nondurables decreased by 0.3% in November, showing a downward trend in four out of the last five months. Within the durable goods sector, output from motor vehicles and parts surged by 3.5% on a monthly basis, while machinery production climbed 2.1%.
Conversely, aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment output fell by 2.6%, largely attributed to reductions in aircraft parts. Early November marked the conclusion of the Boeing ($BA) labor strike. “US manufacturers continue to struggle, and industrial production continued to backslide in November,” stated Scott Anderson, chief US economist of BMO.
“The Boeing strike and hurricanes both contributed to a decrease in industrial production in recent months; however, the robust dollar and international weaknesses are also likely significant influences.” The decline in nondurable production was driven by decreases in output for apparel and leather, petroleum and coal products, and paper processing. Additionally, mining output dropped 0.9% last month, marking a deepening decline from October's 0.1% reduction.
Utilities output fell by 1.3% in November, reversing the 1.3% increase seen in the previous month, which reflected lower production of electric and natural gas. Retail sales, however, experienced an uptick at a pace that surpassed projections in November, primarily fueled by automotive spending, according to the Census Bureau's report released on Tuesday. Price: 173.95, Change: +0.78, Percent Change: +0.45.