Manufacturing output declined 0.5% in August after rising 0.9% in July, due in large part to the sharp decline in the automobile sector. On a year-over-year basis, manufacturing production is up a meager 1.4%. Export growth (based on the three-month moving average ending in July) fell 6.3%, compared with the same three-month period in 2014. Imports declined by 0.3% in the same three-month period.
- Overall manufacturing production is bouncing up and down from month-to-month
- The strong dollar is taking a heavy toll on the manufacturing trade
- Manufacturing lost 17,000 jobs in August, the first drop in employment in two years