This morning, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago released April 2012 figures for the Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index (CFMMI), an index that uses hours worked data as a measure of industry output in the Midwest region (IL, IN, IA, MI, WI).
The overall CFMMI increased 2.4% in April to a seasonally adjusted level of 94.2 (2007 = 100); also, revised data show that the index was down 0.3% between February (92.2) and March (92.0). Regional and national output increased in March from a year earlier by 12.0% and 5.8% respectively. Between March and April 2012, there was positive movement in three of the four regional sectors:
- +7.6% auto sector (plastics and rubber products, transportation equipment)
- +0.7% steel sector (primary metal industries, fabricated metal products)
- +0.6% machinery sector (machinery, computers, & electronic equipment, appliances and components manufacturing)
- -0.1% resource sector (food, paper, wood products, chemicals and nonmetallic mineral products)
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
The full press release can be found online.
