• Manufacturing production slowed significantly in August, edging up 0.1% for the month after rising by 1.6% in July. Much like the larger economy, manufacturing production has softened likely due to supply chain disruptions, workforce shortages and rising raw material costs. Still, manufacturing production has increased 5.9% over the past 12 months, or 3.2% year to date, with output in the sector the strongest since January 2019.
  • Similarly, manufacturing capacity utilization edged up from 76.6% in July to 76.7% in August, also the best reading since January 2019. Looking at annual average growth rates, I would expect that manufacturing production will have risen by 6.8% in 2021, with 4.2% growth in 2022.