St. Paul, MN (July 26, 2020) –U.S. manufacturing business conditions continued to improve in June, with several new reports released in July pointing to a steady climb back from historic losses triggered by the global pandemic.
MNI (a compiler and publisher of industrial information) continues to see increased sourcing activity on their industrial marketplace, IndustryNet, showing searches for domestic parts and supplies trending up over this time last year.
During the height of the economic shutdown, industrial production posted declines not seen since the Federal Reserve started collecting data 101 years ago. Starting in May, however, industrial production began to climb back.
June’s industrial production report, out July 16th, found that total industrial production shot up 5.4% in June as more manufacturers restarted production. This is up significantly from May’s industrial output report, which found a 1.4% rise in production.
The industrial production index is a composite that includes manufacturing, mining and utilities. Taken alone, manufacturing output edged up 7.2% in June, with increases seen across the board.
Taking a closer look at specific industry data provided by the Federal Reserve, manufacturing output gains were led by motor vehicles and parts production, increasing 105% in June. The industry has seen significant gains in the past two months, but still stands below pre-pandemic lows.
All other industrial posted output gains in June, with durable goods manufacturing posting an edge (+11.6%) over non-durable goods manufacturing (+3.4%). Most notably, production shot up 10.3% in apparel and leather; 8.7% in plastics and rubber; 6.4% in machinery; and 5.6% in computer and electronic products.
Manufacturing Employment Bumps Up
In June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released another hopeful employment summary. Overall, the U.S. added 4.8 million jobs in June, and the unemployment rate fell to 11.1%. This included a gain of 356,000 jobs in manufacturing, adding to the 225,000 jobs gained in May.
Job gains in manufacturing cut across most industry sectors, but as with industrial output, motor vehicle and parts production led gains in June. That sector added 195,000 jobs.
Manufacturing Activity Rockets Back to Expansion
For the first time in months, the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) manufacturing activity index rose above 50, expanding at its fastest rate since 1980.
Most notably, new orders soared 24.6% to a level of 56.4% and production skyrocketed 24.1% to 57.3%. And although employment contracted, it did so at a slower rate.
The ISM’s employment index hit 42.1%, up 10 percentage points from May’s reading.
New York Fed Survey Rebounds
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey, released by the Federal Reserve, is a much-watched index and trusted bellwether of U.S. manufacturing business conditions. That index, based on survey responses collected between July 2nd and July 9th, found manufacturing activity has finally increased after sitting well below expansion for months.
The Fed reported increases in new orders and shipments, while unfilled orders were steady and employment unchanged.
More from IndustryNet: https://industrynet.com/
Matsuura Machinery USA, Inc., located in St. Paul, MN is the U.S. subsidiary of Matsuura Machinery Corporation in Japan. Matsuura, an innovator in the design, development and manufacture of high-precision manufacturing solutions for more than 80 years, has been the forerunner in designing pioneering technology and manufacturing solutions to a variety of industries around the globe. Matsuura Machinery USA, Inc. delivers unmatched excellence in 5-axis, vertical, horizontal, linear motor, multi-tasking CNC machine tools and machines with a powder bed metal AM platform with machining capability. Matsuura Machinery USA, Inc. provides the service, applications and technical field support that have always been the Matsuura standard for business.
For more information about Matsuura, please contact: [email protected] or visit: matsuurausa.com.