Manufacturing Production Rises

Sept. 24, 2004
"The report from the Federal Reserve that manufacturing production rose a healthy 0.5 percent in August, following an even stronger revised 0.9 percent increase in July, confirms that the recovery is real and durable,” said David Huether, chief economist of the National Association of Manufacturers.

"The report from the Federal Reserve that manufacturing production rose a healthy 0.5 percent in August, following an even stronger revised 0.9 percent increase in July, confirms that the recovery is real and durable,” said David Huether, chief economist of the National Association of Manufacturers. “This news confirms that manufacturing production is now at a record high, surpassing the previous peak of June 2000.”

The Federal Reserve reported that August industrial production edged up 0.1 percent while the critical manufacturing component surged a healthy 0.5 percent. “In August, manufacturing production increased for the 13th time in the 15 months since the recovery began in June of last year,” Huether said. “Clearly, the drop in June was a temporary pause, nothing more than a blip on the radar screen. Over the past 12 months, manufacturing production has increased 6.5 percent, the fastest pace in six years.”

Huether said with 14 of 19 manufacturing industries increasing production last month, the recovery, which was initially concentrated in computers and machinery, is now spreading out to most industrial sectors. “And while manufacturing continues to face serious long-term structural challenges posed by intense international competition and unnecessarily high production costs at home, the near term outlook just got a little brighter.”