This is a syndicated repost published with the permission of Sober Look. To view original, click here. Opinions herein are not those of the Wall Street Examiner or Lee Adler. Reposting does not imply endorsement. The information presented is for educational or entertainment purposes and is not individual investment advice.
The “seasonal” manufacturing activity slowdown in the US (discussed here) has arrived on schedule. It is visible not just in the Markit PMI measure (below), but across other national and regional indicators as well.
Here are some recent news quotes on the subject:
- CSM: – The Federal Reserve said that U.S. factories cut back sharply on production in April, as automakers produced fewer cars and most other industries scaled back.
- IBT: – A key index of U.S. manufacturing fell in April more than expected, the Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday. The ISM’s purchasing managers index fell to 50.7 from March’s 51.3, more that the 50.9 expected by analysts polled by Thomson/Reuters I/B/E/S.
- MarketWatch: — Manufacturers in the Philadelphia region reported fewer orders for their products in May and became more skittish about hiring new workers, offering further evidence the economy is struggling to grow.
- Investing.com: – Manufacturing activity in the State of New York fell unexpectedly last month, official data showed on Thursday. In a report, Federal Reserve Bank of New York said that Empire State manufacturing activity fell to a seasonally adjusted -1.4, from 3.1 in the preceding month.
But no worries. Why bother with manufacturing when US personal consumption remains firmly above 70% of the GDP.
The conventional wisdom goes that if the consumer is happy and in a spending mood, the US economy should grow. And given the housing and the equity markets’ ongoing rally, the American consumer seems quite happy indeed. Consumer sentiment hit a post-recession high this month (chart below). Now we just have to see if this happiness translates into sales.
 |
| Source: Econoday |
Given these improvements in consumer sentiment, nobody seems to care much about the silly manufacturing slowdown. The consensus seems to be that the US consumer will come to the rescue once again.
From our sponsor:
Join the conversation and have a little fun at Capitalstool.com. If you are a new visitor to the Stool, please register and join in! To post your observations and charts, and snide, but good-natured, comments, click here to register. Be sure to respond to the confirmation email which is sent instantly. If not in your inbox, check your spam filter.
