Overall production in the chemical industries fell by 0.9% in May, following a 0.4% gain in April, but wider industrial production surged ahead by a greater-than-expected 1.2% in May, the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Arlington, Va.; www.americanchemistry.com) Weekly Chemistry and Economic Trends Report says.
In analyzing data from the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, ACC says “among the five major segments, production rose for agricultural chemicals and specialty chemicals,” while “weakness was in consumer products, pharmaceuticals and basic chemicals.”
Meanwhile, industrial production now stands at its highest level since November 2008, the ACC analysis finds. Compared to a year ago, industrial production was up 7.6%.
Aside from the Federal Reserve Board data, ACC also looked at a host of other economic reports, and found the results mixed. Inflation reports were positive, ACC says, which indicates “inflation is tame.” On the other hand, housing data were negative, “showing much larger declines than anticipated” after the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit