September was a mixed bag for both the housing market and manufacturing. Here are the five things we learned from U.S. economic data released during the week ending October 20.
Existing homes sales grew for only the second time in six months during September. The National Association of Realtors’ measure of sales of previously owned homes increased 0.7 percent during the month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of 5.390 million units. The increase left the sales 1.5 percent below their year-ago pace, although it is worth noting that the annualized sales rate has stayed within a tight range of 5.35 and 5.70 million units over the past year. Sales grew during the month in the West and Midwest, held steady in the Northeast and slipped in the South. None of the four Census regions had positive year-to-year increases in home sales. One of the reasons for the muddled sales picture is the relatively small number of homes on the market—at the end of September, there were 1.900 million homes available for sale. While this was up 1.6 percent from August, it represented not only a 6.4 percent decline from a year early but also a very tight 4.2 month supply of homes. As a result, the median sales price of previously owned homes has grown 4.2 percent over the past year to $245,100. NAR’s press release blamed both “supply shortages” and recent hurricanes for the “muted overall activity.”
Housing starts slowed during September. The Census Bureau indicates that starts of privately owned housing units were at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of 1.127 million units, down 4.7 percent from August but still 6.1 percent above the year-ago pace. Starts of single-family homes slowed 4.6 percent to an annualized pace of 829,000 while that of multifamily units (5+ units) dropped 6.2 percent to 286,000. Starts slowed in the Midwest (-20.2 percent), South (-9.3 percent), and the Northeast (-9.2 percent) but increased 15.7 percent in the West. Looking toward the future, the number of issued building permits fell 4.5 percent during September to a SAAR of 1.215 million. This was 4.3 percent below the year-ago annualized rate of issued permits. Issued permits for single-family units, however, increased 2.4 percent during September. Housing completions gained 1.1 percent during the month to a SAAR of 1.109 million homes. This was 10.3 percent above the completions rate during September 2016.
Manufacturing output eked out a small gain during September. The Federal Reserve indicates that manufacturing output grew 0.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis during the month, putting the measure 1.0 percent above its September 2016 reading. Output of durable jumped 1.0 percent during September while that for nondurables fell 0.9 percent. The former was boosted by increased production of nonmetallic mineral products, machinery, and electrical equipment/appliances. Most categories of nondurables suffered production declines except for food/beverages and plastics/rubber products. Overall industrial production grew 0.3 percent during September, following two monthly declines. Industrial production was 1.6 percent above that of a year earlier. Mining production increased 0.4 percent (thanks to greater oil/gas extraction) while output at utilities bounced back from August’s big decline with a 1.5 percent gain. Overall capacity utilization grew by 2/10ths of a percentage point to 76.0 percent (September 2016: 75.6 percent) while manufacturing sector factories hummed at the same level that they had in August at 75.1 percent (September 2016: 74.9 percent).
Forward-looking economic indicators took a step back in September, largely due to the hurricanes. The Leading Economic Index from the Conference Board shed 2/10ths of a point to a seasonally adjusted 128.6 (2010=100). The measure was nevertheless 4.0 percent above its year-ago reading. Six of the economic measures that make up the leading index improved during the month, including those for new manufacturing orders and the interest rate spread. But the huge (but short-lived) surge in initial jobless claims weighed heavily on the index. The coincident index edged up 1/10th of a point to 115.7, putting it 1.7 percent above its year-ago mark. Three of the four components of the coincident index made positive contributions: personal income, industrial production, and manufacturing/trade sales. The lagging index slipped by 1/10th of a point to 125.2 (+2.4 percent versus September 2016), with three of seven components moving forward during the month. The press release said that “the trend in the US LEI remains consistent with continuing solid growth in the US economy for the second half of the year.”
Employment expanded in five states while falling in six others during September. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that nonfarm payrolls grew significantly in five states during the month, led by California (+52,000), Washington (+13,800), and Indiana (+11,400). Payrolls contracted in six states, led by Hurricane Irma ravished Florida, where nonfarm payrolls shrank by 127,400. Other states experiencing substantial payroll declines included New York (-34,100) and Missouri (-10,500). Over the past year, 28 states saw significant expansions in nonfarm payrolls, with the biggest percentage gains in Nevada (+2.5 percent), Utah (+2.5 percent), and Maryland (+2.4 percent). No state experienced a significant year-to-year percentage decline in nonfarm payrolls over the past 12 months.
Other U.S. economic data released over the past week:
– Jobless Claims (week ending October 14, 2017, First-Time Claims, seasonally adjusted): 222,000 (-22,000 vs. previous week; -26,000 vs. the same week a year earlier). 4-week moving average: 248,250 (-1.3% vs. the same week a year earlier).
– Housing Market Index (October 2017, Index (%age of homebuilders saying the housing market is “good” minus %age of homebuilders saying it is “poor.”), seasonally adjusted): 68 (vs. September 2017: 64; October 2016: 63).
– Bankruptcy Filings (12-month period ending September 30, 2017, Bankruptcy Filings): 790,830 (-1.8% vs. 12-month period ending September 30, 2016).
– Treasury International Capital Data (August 2017, Net Foreign Purchases of Domestic Securities, not seasonally adjusted): +$34.6 billion (vs. July 2017: +$5.1 billion; August 2016: +24.0 billion).
– Beige Book
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What We Learned About the U.S. Economy Last Week 