Editor’s Note
The latest manufacturing data reveals a split performance for January. While nine sectors, led by Printing and Apparel, reported growth, eight others, including Textile Mills and Wood Products, contracted. This mixed picture underscores the uneven pace of recovery across different industries.
The nine manufacturing industries reporting growth in January — listed in order — are: Printing & Related Support Activities; Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Primary Metals; Transportation Equipment; Machinery; Chemical Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; and Computer & Electronic Products. The eight industries reporting contraction in January — in the following order — are: Textile Mills; Wood Products; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Petroleum & Coal Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Furniture & Related Products; and Miscellaneous Manufacturing.
The 11 industries reporting growth in production during the month of January — listed in order — are: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Printing & Related Support Activities; Fabricated Metal Products; Paper Products; Machinery; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Transportation Equipment; Chemical Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Primary Metals; and Miscellaneous Manufacturing. The six industries reporting a decrease in production in January — in the following order — are: Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Wood Products; Textile Mills; Furniture & Related Products; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; and Computer & Electronic Products.
Of the 18 manufacturing industries, five reported employment growth in January: Fabricated Metal Products; Transportation Equipment; Computer & Electronic Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; and Nonmetallic Mineral Products. The 11 industries reporting a decrease in employment in January, in the following order, are: Textile Mills; Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Wood Products; Petroleum & Coal Products; Paper Products; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Primary Metals; Chemical Products; and Machinery.
The nine manufacturing industries reporting slower supplier deliveries in January, in order, are: Paper Products; Textile Mills; Computer & Electronic Products; Primary Metals; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Transportation Equipment; Fabricated Metal Products; Machinery; and Chemical Products. The three industries reporting faster supplier deliveries in January are: Plastics & Rubber Products; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; and Miscellaneous Manufacturing. Six industries reported no change in supplier deliveries in January.
Of 18 manufacturing industries, the four reporting higher inventories in January are: Wood Products; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; and Miscellaneous Manufacturing. The seven industries reporting lower inventories in January — listed in order — are: Textile Mills; Computer & Electronic Products; Machinery; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Transportation Equipment; and Fabricated Metal Products. Seven industries reported no change in inventories in January.
Two industries reported customers’ inventories as too high in January: Plastics & Rubber Products; and Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components. The 11 industries reporting customers’ inventories as too low in January, in order, are: Textile Mills; Wood Products; Transportation Equipment; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Chemical Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Furniture & Related Products; Machinery; Primary Metals; and Miscellaneous Manufacturing.
In January, the 11 industries that reported paying increased prices for raw materials, in order, are: Primary Metals; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Fabricated Metal Products; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Machinery; Computer & Electronic Products; Textile Mills; Wood Products; Transportation Equipment; and Chemical Products. The three industries that reported paying decreased prices for raw materials in January are: Petroleum & Coal Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; and Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products.
The five industries reporting higher backlogs in January are: Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Primary Metals; Machinery; and Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components. The five industries reporting lower backlogs in January are: Plastics & Rubber Products; Textile Mills; Wood Products; Computer & Electronic Products; and Nonmetallic Mineral Products. Eight industries reported no change in backlog of orders in January.
Of the 18 manufacturing industries, the four that reported growth in new export orders in January are: Transportation Equipment; Computer & Electronic Products; Machinery; and Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components. The nine industries that reported a decrease in new export orders in January — in the following order — are: Wood Products; Printing & Related Support Activities; Petroleum & Coal Products; Textile Mills; Primary Metals; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; and Chemical Products.
Seven industries reported higher imports in January in the following order: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Furniture & Related Products; Primary Metals; Transportation Equipment; Plastics & Rubber Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; and Machinery. The seven industries that reported lower volumes in January — in the following order — are: Printing & Related Support Activities; Wood Products; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Chemical Products; and Computer & Electronic Products.