FX.co ★ US Manufacturing Output Unexpectedly Rises

In August, U.S. manufacturing output experienced an increase of 0.2%, surpassing market predictions of a 0.2% decrease, following a 0.2% decline in July. The durable manufacturing index saw a 0.2% rise, slightly below the 0.3% increase registered in July. Among the more heavily weighted durable goods sectors, motor vehicles and parts demonstrated significant growth with a 2.6% increase, whereas fabricated metal products and machinery experienced declines. The nondurable manufacturing index rose by 0.3% in August, recovering from a 0.5% decrease in the previous month. Within nondurable goods, textile and product mills experienced notable growth of 2.5%, and petroleum and coal products rose by 1.6%. In contrast, the plastics and rubber products sector faced a 0.7% decline. Key nondurable goods industries like chemicals, and food, beverage, and tobacco products saw increases of 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively. Manufacturing capacity utilization increased by 0.1 percentage points in August, reaching 76.8%, which is 1.4 percentage points below its long-term average from 1972 to 2024.