NEW YORK - The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index was up 0.5% in July at a seasonally adjusted level of 84.8, as three of the four regional sectors showed improvement, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Monday.
Nationally, the Federal Reserve Board's industrial production index for manufacturing gained 0.6% in July. Overall manufacturing output in the region gained 6.2% from a year earlier, compared to 4.2% growth in output nationally in that period.
The June report showed a revised 0.3% rise to 84.4, originally reported as unchanged at 84.0.
The regional auto sector's output increased 1.4% in the month, after a 0.6% drop in June, while national output grew 2.7%. Nationally, auto sector output gained 3.9% from a year ago while the Midwest auto sector's output increased 3.0% year-over-year, according to the Fed.
The regional steel sector's output jumped 1.4% in the month, following a 0.8% rise in June. Nationally, steel sector output was up 0.8% in the month. On a year-over-year basis, steel output grew 17.2% in the region while climbing 11.2% in the nation.
The regional resource sector's output climbed 0.2% in July, following a flat reading in June. Nationally, resource output was unchanged in the month. Compared to July 2010, regional resource output was up 1.3%, while national resource output rose 1.6%. "The food, wood, and nonmetallic subsectors of the regional resource sector increased from June to July, but the chemical subsector decreased and the paper subsector was unchanged,” the Fed said.
The regional machinery sector's output slid 0.3% in the month, following a 1.6% increase in June. Nationally, machinery sector output gained 0.1% in the month. On a year-over-year basis, machinery output grew 12.0% in the region while rising 6.4% in the nation.
