Economic Reports 06/15/09
European economy loses record 1.22M jobs in Q109.
Employment payrolls in the 16-member euro region fell 0.8% vs Q408, when they declined 0.4%.
The Q1 drop was the biggest decline since the data series started in 1995. Yoy, payrolls contracted 1.2% the first annual decline on record.
Import & Export Prices May
Petroleum +8.3% spurring additional dollar based stagflation. Import prices +1.3%; Yoy -17.6%
Export prices +0.6%; Yoy -6.5% with ag exports +3.6% after +3.7% in March.
Retail Sales May
+0.5%; less auto +0.5%. Headline reads sales up, however, a 3.6% jump in gasoline station sales was the primary factor behind the increase.
Excluding motor vehicles and gasoline, retail sales edged up only 0.1%. Yoy retail sales -9.6%.
Demonstrating stagflation with notable gains: building materials, up 1.3%, health & personal care, up 0.7%; food & beverages, clothing, and food services & drinking places.
And demonstrating price deflation with declines in miscellaneous retailers, down 1.3%; sporting goods, down 0.8%; and electronics, down 0.5%.
Decreases were also seen in furniture, nonstore retailers, and general merchandise.
Inventories April
Wholesale inventories fell a very steep -1.4% in April, a draw that appears even more steep when compared against a mild -0.4% decline in wholesale sales.
The decrease was registered entirely on the durables side which fell -2.2%.
Inventories of autos were down a very steep -4.5% reflecting output cuts at auto manufacturers.
Metal inventories fell -6.8% after falling 7.7% in March, data confirming company reports that buying from metal distributors evaporated in the early spring (which in turn led to wide factory shutdowns among metal producers).
Today's data indicate that firms at the base of the supply chain were still in deep drawdown mode in April, and not willing to hold stocks in anticipation of economic recovery.
Business Inventories April
Confirming that businesses are NOT anticipating better conditions…
Business inventories fell 1.1% The 1.1 percent drop compares with a 0.3% dip in business sales.
Retailers drew down their inventories by 1% in the month with the draw at manufacturers also at 1% while wholesalers were even more aggressive, drawing down their inventories by 1.4 %.
The still high levels of inventories suggest sluggish freight volumes in the months ahead as the supply chain lowers stockpiles to meet weaker demand.
Combined with higher fuel costs, this does not bode well for where the rubber meets the road: trucking.
Fed Beige Book May
The Federal Reserve highlighted the ongoing weakness in freight levels, including the following statement:
“A trucking industry contact notes that shipping volumes continued to decline in April and were down 13% from a year earlier...
the steepest Yoy drop since the mid-1990s.”
International Trade April
$-29.2B vs $-27.6B as worldwide demand contracted further as exports fell -2.3% while imports slipped -1.4%.
The fall in exports was led by a $1.3B drop in industrial supplies, followed by a $1.2B decrease in capital goods excluding autos.
Imports dropped largely on $0.9B less in capital goods excluding autos. Industrial supplies imports fell $0.7B despite a $1B jump in crude oil.
Quarterly Information Services Survey Q109
Information sector revenue for Q1 fell to $275.3B, down 0.9% from Q4 and down 3.2% from a year ago.
Employment services revenue, which offers a look at the health of the temporary employment industry, fell 5.8% in the quarter for a year-on-year decline of 9.9%.
Initial Jobless Claims 06/11
Improving on the surface -24K at 601K; 4 week MA -10.5K at 621.75K. However, continuing claims +59K at a new record 6.816M; 4 week MA +57.25K at 6.750M
The Nattering One muses... And they Call the Chinese Communists?
America is running a Ponzi scheme the likes of which Madoff couldn’t fathom. What is with this new U.S. model?
Average Americans lend money to banks so that bankers can lend it back to average Americans at a profit.
Employment payrolls in the 16-member euro region fell 0.8% vs Q408, when they declined 0.4%.
The Q1 drop was the biggest decline since the data series started in 1995. Yoy, payrolls contracted 1.2% the first annual decline on record.
Import & Export Prices May
Petroleum +8.3% spurring additional dollar based stagflation. Import prices +1.3%; Yoy -17.6%
Export prices +0.6%; Yoy -6.5% with ag exports +3.6% after +3.7% in March.
Retail Sales May
+0.5%; less auto +0.5%. Headline reads sales up, however, a 3.6% jump in gasoline station sales was the primary factor behind the increase.
Excluding motor vehicles and gasoline, retail sales edged up only 0.1%. Yoy retail sales -9.6%.
Demonstrating stagflation with notable gains: building materials, up 1.3%, health & personal care, up 0.7%; food & beverages, clothing, and food services & drinking places.
And demonstrating price deflation with declines in miscellaneous retailers, down 1.3%; sporting goods, down 0.8%; and electronics, down 0.5%.
Decreases were also seen in furniture, nonstore retailers, and general merchandise.
Inventories April
Wholesale inventories fell a very steep -1.4% in April, a draw that appears even more steep when compared against a mild -0.4% decline in wholesale sales.
The decrease was registered entirely on the durables side which fell -2.2%.
Inventories of autos were down a very steep -4.5% reflecting output cuts at auto manufacturers.
Metal inventories fell -6.8% after falling 7.7% in March, data confirming company reports that buying from metal distributors evaporated in the early spring (which in turn led to wide factory shutdowns among metal producers).
Today's data indicate that firms at the base of the supply chain were still in deep drawdown mode in April, and not willing to hold stocks in anticipation of economic recovery.
Business Inventories April
Confirming that businesses are NOT anticipating better conditions…
Business inventories fell 1.1% The 1.1 percent drop compares with a 0.3% dip in business sales.
Retailers drew down their inventories by 1% in the month with the draw at manufacturers also at 1% while wholesalers were even more aggressive, drawing down their inventories by 1.4 %.
The still high levels of inventories suggest sluggish freight volumes in the months ahead as the supply chain lowers stockpiles to meet weaker demand.
Combined with higher fuel costs, this does not bode well for where the rubber meets the road: trucking.
Fed Beige Book May
The Federal Reserve highlighted the ongoing weakness in freight levels, including the following statement:
“A trucking industry contact notes that shipping volumes continued to decline in April and were down 13% from a year earlier...
the steepest Yoy drop since the mid-1990s.”
International Trade April
$-29.2B vs $-27.6B as worldwide demand contracted further as exports fell -2.3% while imports slipped -1.4%.
The fall in exports was led by a $1.3B drop in industrial supplies, followed by a $1.2B decrease in capital goods excluding autos.
Imports dropped largely on $0.9B less in capital goods excluding autos. Industrial supplies imports fell $0.7B despite a $1B jump in crude oil.
Quarterly Information Services Survey Q109
Information sector revenue for Q1 fell to $275.3B, down 0.9% from Q4 and down 3.2% from a year ago.
Employment services revenue, which offers a look at the health of the temporary employment industry, fell 5.8% in the quarter for a year-on-year decline of 9.9%.
Initial Jobless Claims 06/11
Improving on the surface -24K at 601K; 4 week MA -10.5K at 621.75K. However, continuing claims +59K at a new record 6.816M; 4 week MA +57.25K at 6.750M
The Nattering One muses... And they Call the Chinese Communists?
America is running a Ponzi scheme the likes of which Madoff couldn’t fathom. What is with this new U.S. model?
Average Americans lend money to banks so that bankers can lend it back to average Americans at a profit.
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