Aug. 17 (UPI) — U.S. manufacturing is back, with a gauge of regional activity rebounding in August to show its first positive reading in nearly a year, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday.
“Manufacturing activity in the region expanded overall, according to the firms responding to the August Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey,” the Philly Fed reported. “The survey’s indicators for general activity, new orders, and shipments were all positive for the first time since May 2022.”
Supply-chain bottlenecks triggered by a surge in demand during the post-vaccine stage of the COVID-19 pandemic left manufacturers reeling early this year. Even as recently as July, the Institute for Supply Management reported that new orders from manufacturers contracted, though backlogs improved.
One year after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, President Joe Biden said his economic plan is working, inflation is down and wages are up.
“Our economic plan created more than 13.4 million new jobs since I took office, nearly 800K manufacturing jobs,” he said. “Where is it written that America can’t create the world’s most innovative economy and grow manufacturing?”
The Philly Fed, however, offered caveats to its report. When asked about the price that consumers would pay for goods and services over the next year, respondents predicted a 4% increase, compared with 5% the prior month.
Firms added more people to their payrolls, meanwhile, though the overall outlook was less than exuberant.
“Expectations for growth over the next six months were less widespread, as most of the survey’s future indexes remained positive but declined,” the manufacturing report read.
Globally, the World Bank finds that manufacturing accounts for about 16% of gross domestic product.
