The chemical industry was one of the manufacturing sectors reporting expansion in August, an improvement from July, but the mixed reports elsewhere indicate that the economy is “stalling,” says the American Chemistry Council (ACC; Washington, D.C.; www.americanchemistry.com) in its latest Weekly Chemistry and Economic Trends report.
The gain in chemical manufacturing was led by gains in export orders, employment, imports and inventories, ACC said. No change in production was registered, but the employment report showed gains in chemical industry production workers and hours worked, so this could suggest increasing production, the report said. Looking at the employment numbers for the full economy, nonfarm payrolls were flat, no growth at all, ACC said, and the unemployment rate for the U.S. overall remained at 9.1%. “The economy is stalling,” the report said.
In August, fears of a global slowdown, among other factors, pulled the S&P 500 index down by 5.7% in August, while the index for chemical companies also fell (by 6.8%), the ACC report said.
On the consumer side, ACC said that while personal income and consumer spending both rose in July, confidence “plummeted” during August, and could negatively affect spending for August.