US Midwest manufacturing activity, including steelmaking, continued to contract in May, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago this week. However, the drop in steel production was less severe in May than in April.
The Chicago Federal Reserve Bank's Midwest Manufacturing Index (CFMMI) showed that steel output in the US' Midwest states decreased by 2.2 percent in May after falling 3.2 percent in April. The 2.2 percent May drop compares to the 1.5 percent nationwide drop in steel production of in May. Midwest steel output dropped 36.8 percent from its May 2008 level, while national steel output fell 26.1 percent in May from last year.
The CFMMI showed that US Midwest manufacturing output declined by a total of 3.1 percent in May from April and dropped by 24.4 percent in May from May 2008, to a seasonally adjusted level of 78.2 (2002 = 100). The Midwest decrease in May manufacturing output was steeper than April's drop of 1.4 percent in April to 80.7. The Federal Reserve Board's nationwide industrial production index for manufacturing (IPMFG) was down 1.0 percent in May from April.
Regional auto output in the Midwest, home of the "Big Three" US auto producers, dropped 10.7 percent in May after declining 3.0 percent in April, while nationwide, auto production fell 2.6 percent in May. Midwest auto output was down 39.2 percent in May compared to last year's figures, while the nation's auto production declined 22.0 percent.
The Midwest's machinery sector production dropped 3.3 percent in May after having declined 2.5 percent in April, while the nation's machinery output declined 1.5 percent in May. Regional machinery output in May was 26.9 percent below last year's levels, and national machinery production was down 17.2 percent.
The Midwest resource sector's production increased 0.2 percent in May after increasing 0.7 percent in April, while the national resource sector's output rose 0.3 percent in May. Two of the five sub-sectors of the resource sector, food and chemical production, increased from April to May, while paper, non-metallic mineral and wood production declined. Compared to last year's numbers, regional resource production fell 10.0 percent in May, and the national resource output went down 8.0 percent.