Compared with one year ago, the index contracted 9.7%, which was the seventh straight month of contraction.
There is a strong relationship between the unemployment rate and the number of delinquent and defaulted loans. Since the first jump in unemployment claims on March 21st and through April 11th, over 22 million people have filed unemployment insurance claims. This vast increase in unemployment suggest that near-term credit conditions are very likely to deteriorate.
In March, the year-over-year change in the real rate was -133 basis points. The change was negative for the 15th month in a row. This was the lowest level for the year-over-change since December 2016.
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.
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