NEW YORK - The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index fell 0.9% in April to a seasonally adjusted level of 83.6, as half of the four regional sectors showed improvement, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Tuesday.
Nationally, the Federal Reserve Board's industrial production index for manufacturing slid 0.5% in April. Overall manufacturing output in the region gained 8.6% from a year earlier, compared to 5.0% growth in output nationally in that period.
The Marcj report showed a revised 1.5% increase to 84.4, originally reported as a 1.9% gain to 85.0
The regional auto sector's output decreased 5.0% in the month, after a 3.3% jump in March, while national output was 3.1% better. Nationally, auto sector output gained 5.3% from a year ago while the Midwest auto sector's output increased 8.6% year-over-year, according to the Fed.
The regional steel sector's output slipped 0.3% in the month, following a 2.8% rise in March. Nationally, steel sector output was up 0.3% in the month. On a year-over-year basis, steel output grew 17.5% in the region while climbing 10.4% in the nation.
The regional resource sector's output climbed 0.4% in April, following a 0.2% rise in March. Nationally, resource output was 0.5% higher in the month. Compared to April 2010, regional resource output was up 2.7%, while national resource output rose 2.4%. "The food, chemical, and nonmetallic subsectors of the regional resource sector increased from March to April, while the wood and paper subsectors decreased,” the Fed said.
The regional machinery sector's output grew 1.0% in the month, following a 1.4% increase in March. Nationally, machinery sector output jumped 0.5% in the month. On a year-over-year basis, machinery output grew 14.3% in the region while rising 9.8% in the nation.
