“The mild decline in overall industrial production in June was a predictable breather following robust growth in preceding months,” said Jerry Jasinowski, president of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). The Federal Reserve reported that overall industrial production declined 0.3 percent in June, with the biggest decline in utilities.
“The weakness in utilities reflected unseasonably mild weather,” Jasinowski said. “Manufacturing industrial production edged down a slight 0.1 percent, but despite that stall, manufacturing production rose at an annual clip of 7.1 percent in the second quarter. This is the fastest pace since the fourth quarter of 1999.”
The Federal Reserve said the largest decline in manufacturing industrial production was in the auto industry, “but this too reflects a predictable correction,” Jasinowski said. “Auto production had grown at an annual rate of 9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2003 and the first quarter of 2004. which is simply not sustainable.
“If you discount the volatile auto manufacturing sector,manufacturing production rose by 0.1 percent thanks to healthy gains in machinery, primary metals, computers, aerospace production and other sectors,” Jasinowski said.