Data Updates

Data Updates

Keeping you up to date on the latest data releases.

October 2008

  • 10.10.2008
  • Import and Export Prices
  • Import prices fell 30.5 percent (annualized rate) in September, following a 26.9 percent decrease in August. While the headline decrease is reflective of large decreases in energy and other commodities, nonpetroleum prices also ebbed in September, falling 9.9 percent. Over the past 12 months, import prices are still up 14.5 percent and nonpetroleum import prices have increased 6.5 percent. Export prices decreased 10.9 percent in September. Export prices have fallen at an annualized rate of 14.9 percent over the last two months, compared to an increase of 6.8 percent over the past year.
  • 10.03.2008
  • Employment Report
  • Total nonfarm payroll employment fell by 159,000 in September, marking its largest decrease since March 2003 and its ninth consecutive decrease. Though the revisions for the past two months were relatively minor overall, private payrolls for July and August were revised downward by 40,000 and 43,000, respectively, and government payrolls were revised up 33,000 and 47,000. For the year, private payrolls are down 969,000 while government payrolls have risen by 209,000. Payroll employment losses were spread across a wide range of industries. Manufacturing was down −51,000, construction −35,000, and private services −91,000. On the upside were natural resources (+9,000), education and health services (+25,000) and government (+9,000). Overall, the one and three–month employment diffusion indexes stood at 38.1 and 36.1, indicating weakness across a broad range of industries. The unemployment rate remained at 6.1 percent in September, and private average weekly hours ticked down 0.1 to 33.6 hours.
  • 10.02.2008
  • Factory Orders
  • New orders for manufactured goods fell 4.0 percent (nonannualized) in August, following a downwardly–revised 0.7 percent increase in July. New orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft decreased by 2.4 percent during the month, but are still up 1.5 percent over the past 12 months. Shipments for all manufacturing dropped by 3.5 percent in August, its largest decrease since January 2007. Over the past three months, shipments are down 0.3 percent. Unfilled orders rose just 0.4 percent in August, compared to an average increase of 0.8 percent since the beginning of the year. Inventories continued to rise in August and are up 8.6 percent over the past year.
  • 10.01.2008
  • ISM Manufacturing
  • The ISM manufacturing index plummeted 6.4 points to an index value of 43.5 in September, its lowest value since October 2001, and solidly below the ISM’s expansion threshold of 50. Every component of the diffusion index decreased in September except supplier deliveries (up 2.2 points to 52.5). New orders fell to 38.8 from 48.3 in August. The production index indicated contraction in September for the first time in five months, falling 11.3 points to 40.8. The employment index fell to 41.8 in September, its lowest value since April 2003. While not mentioned explicitly in the report, it is reasonable to assume somewhat of a negative bias due to Hurricane’s Gustav and Ike.
  • 10.01.2008
  • Construction Spending
  • Total construction spending was virtually flat in August after falling 1.4 percent in July. On the private side, total construction spending fell 0.3 percent over the month following July’s downwardly revised 2.4 percent drop. Private residential construction increased 0.3 percent in August, the first such increase since March 2007 and only the second increase since the series peaked in March 2006. Private nonresidential construction spending declined for the second consecutive month in August, dropping 0.8 percent on top of July’s downwardly revised 1.1 percent decline. Prior to July, nonresidential construction spending had been increasing steadily and had not declined in roughly a year and a half. Private nonresidential construction spending in both June and July was revised up with the release of August’s data. However, since June’s data was revised up more substantially than July’s data there is a more noticeable drop of in spending from June to July than originally reported. Overall nonresidential construction is still up 13.0 percent from a year ago, but the recent declines may be some cause for concern should spending not pick up in the coming months.