NEW YORK - The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index rose 0.3% in December to a seasonally adjusted level of 81.5, as the steel, machinery, and resource sectors all showed improvement, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported today.
Nationally, the Federal Reserve Board's industrial production index for manufacturing grew 0.4% in December. Overall manufacturing output in the region gained 8.3% from a year earlier, compared to 6.4% growth in output nationally in that period.
The November report showed a revised 0.3% increase to 81.2, originally reported as a 0.4% gain to 81.1
The regional steel sector's output increased 1.2% in the month, following a 2.7% rise in November. Nationally, steel sector output was up 1.0% in the month. On a year-over-year basis, steel output grew 17.1% in the region while climbing 11.4% in the nation.
The regional machinery sector's output grew 0.5% in the month, following a 1.1% increase in November. Nationally, machinery sector output jumped 1.0% in the month. On a year-over-year basis, machinery output grew 11.6% in the region while rising 12.6% in the nation.
The regional resource sector's output climbed 0.3% in December, following a 0.5% rise in November. Nationally, resource output was 0.4% higher in the month. Compared to December 2009, regional resource output was up 6.3%, while national resource output rose 4.0%. "The food and chemical subsectors of the regional resource sector increased from November to December, while the wood, paper, and nonmetallic subsectors decreased,” the Fed said.
The regional auto sector's output decreased 0.2% in the month, after a 2.3% slide in November, while national output was 0.1% better. Nationally, auto sector output gained 3.9% from a year ago while the Midwest auto sector's output increased 6.0% year-over-year, according to the Fed.
