Midwest manufacturing rebounded in August as production in the automotive sector rose 4.1%. The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index increased 1.5% in August, reaching a level of 96.7, compared to the 2007 benchmark of 100.
The strong increase came after a July that was worse than first reported, down 0.7% rather than the initial estimate of 0.1%.
The Midwest outpaced the national production increase of 0.7% in August announced by the Federal Reserve Board.
In the four major industrial sectors covered by the CFMMI report:
Automotive: Production rose 4.1% after falling 2.8% in July. Auto production nationally rose by 2.4% in August. Midwest auto production was up 8.4% in August versus a year ago, and national auto production was up 4.8% versus the same period in 2012.
Machinery: The machinery sector was up 0.8% in August after falling 0.4% in July. Nationally, machinery production increased 1.2% in August. Regional machinery production exceeded 2012 levels by 1.5%, while national production was up 4.8% from a year ago.
Resources: The resource sector’s August output rose 0.4%, matching the July increase. Production of food, wood, paper and nonmetallic minerals increased while chemical production fell. Compared with the same point in 2012, regional production was up 1.9% and national output was up 1.2%.
Steel: After an increase of 1.3% in July, steel production fell 0.1% in August. Steel production in the U.S. rose 0.1% in August. Compared to August 2012, Midwest steel output was up 2.2% and national steel output was up 1.6%.
