how can we be having record ex****ts if industrial production keeps
plunging, unless the record ex****ts are scrapes,conservative debacles
continue, industrial production dropped 0.7 percent last month, more
than double the decline that economists had expected
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080515/economy.html
Industrial output plunges, second big drop in 2 months
Thursday May 15, 9:29 am ET
By Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer
Industrial output plunges in April, reflecting big cutbacks in autos
and other manufacturing
WA****NGTON (AP) -- The nation's industrial output plunged in April,
reflecting big cutbacks in autos and other manufacturing industries.
The Federal Reserve re****ted Thursday that industrial production
dropped 0.7 percent last month, more than double the decline that
economists had expected.
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Manufacturing output fell by 0.8 percent with half of that weakness
coming from large cutbacks in auto production which has been beset by
falling demand for new cars and also problems related to a strike at a
parts supplier for General Motors.
The drop in overall production matched a 0.7 percent decline in
February and followed a weak 0.2 percent increase in March. The
nation's industrial sector has been feeling the impact of the slowdown
in the rest of the economy. A bright spot for manufacturing has been
continued strong overseas demand, helped by a weak dollar which has
boosted the competitiveness of U.S. products in foreign markets.
Output in the mining sector declined by 0.8 percent while output at
the nation's utilities edged up by 0.3 percent last month.
The drop in overall production pushed the industrial operating rate to
its lowest point in more than two years. The nation's factories, mines
and utilities operated at 79.7 percent of capacity last month, the
first time the operating rate has been below 80 percent since October
2005 when it stood at 79.8 percent because of disruptions from the
Gulf Coast hurricanes.
In other economic news, the Labor Department re****ted Thursday that
applications for jobless benefits rose by 6,000 last week to 371,000.
The gain was in line with expectations.
The weak economy has triggered four straight months of job losses,
often a sign that a recession has started. However, the April drop was
just one-fourth the size of job losses in March, giving hope that the
current economic slowdown may not be as severe as the past two
recessions.
The increase of 6,000 claims applications last week was the smallest
one-week move in about two months. Claims have been unusually volatile
in recent weeks, reflecting strike-related layoffs in the auto
industry and trouble the government had in seasonally adjusting the
data to take into account an unusually early Easter.
For the week ending May 3, the total number of people receiving
unemployment benefits rose by 28,000 to 3.06 million, the third
straight week that this figure has been above 3 million, another sign
that the weak economy is having an adverse effect on the labor market.
The number of states and territories re****ting increases in claims
applications for the week of May 3 totaled 26, while 27 saw decreasing
claims.
New York was the state with the biggest rise in claims, a jump of
11,414 that was attributed to higher layoffs in trans****tation and
service industries, followed by Pennsylvania, which saw an increase of
2,716.
Massachusetts had the biggest drop in claims, a decline of 5,027,
which was attributed to fewer layoffs in trans****tation and services.
Other states seeing big declines were New Jersey, down 3,259, and
Georgia, with a drop of 2,935.
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