In February, the annual rate of contraction of machine tool orders in both units and dollars contracted faster. This was expected as the GBI: Metalworking, which leads machine tool orders by 7-12 months, rate of contraction was just starting to bottom.
In March, the monetary base grew 14.8% as the Federal Reserve revived programs from the Great Recession in 2008-2009.
During the week of April 6th, more manufacturers experienced changes to standing orders, business practices, lead times, supplier access and materials/parts availability. However, the percent of manufacturers making adjustments to their business, as a result, was generally unchanged.
February was the first month of growth in durable goods new orders since July 2019 and the fastest rate of growth since January 2019.
During the week of March 30th, Gardner Intelligence’s COVID-19 survey showed that changes experienced by manufacturers stabilized while the severity of changes and adjustments lessened. And, there was a small but notable shift in manufacturers serving the medical industry.
An overview of manufacturing business conditions for March 2020, including COVID-19's effect on manufacturing.
As businesses worldwide are forced to close due to COVID-19, manufacturers on the whole face a challenging near-term environment. Custom processors and additive manufacturers reported relatively better conditions in March as compared to their peers in other manufacturing processes. This may have been potentially due to their immediate ability to manufacture the goods necessary in the fight against COVID-19.
For the third month in a row, durable goods spending grew faster than 7%.
After falling below 2% in December 2019, the one month rate of growth grew 2.2% for the second consecutive month.
As automotive OEMs closed facilities and states closed non-essential businesses, significantly more manufacturers made adjustments to production/capacity in last week’s survey.
Month-over-month housing permits grew faster than 12% for the fifth time in six months but will likely slow significantly due to COVID-19.
January cutting tool orders were $196.5 million, which were down 9.8% compared with one year ago.
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