Industrial production Rose Reaching an All Time High

A little late in posting this but it is a huge sign that the manufacturing sector in this country is recovering nicely.

The report was summed up nicely by Bill McBride in his blog Calculated Risk.

Capacity Utilitzation is still 1.2% below the average for the last 30 years but seems to be climbing.

Industrial production increased 1.1% in November to 101.3 and at a new record high.

In addition, it seems like there is some manufacturing strength in Europe according to a Bloomberg article.

The charge higher is led by the auto sector.  Per Bloomberg article:

The production of motor vehicles and parts increased 3.4 percent after falling 1.3 percent in October, today’s report showed. Auto assemblies climbed last month to an 11.6 million annual rate, the most since June 2006. Excluding autos and parts, manufacturing rose 0.5 percent, indicating the pickup was broad-based.

 This is a great report but we need to pay attention to inventories to see if this will have legs to stand on.  Again per Bloomberg:

The outlook for production depends on whether demand is strong enough to keep pace with an increase in stockpiles. A report last week showed business inventories climbed 0.7 percent in October, the biggest jump since January.

Some charts for our viewing pleasure per Calculated Risk.