Manufacturing production rose 0.9% in May, bouncing back after edging down 0.1% in April. More importantly, output in the manufacturing sector is off just 0.5% from pre-pandemic levels, and manufacturing capacity utilization increased from 74.9% in April to 75.6% in May, the best rate since December 2019. Manufacturing activity in the New York and Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank districts expanded solidly once again in June, even with some easing. In the Empire State Manufacturing Survey, delivery times narrowed to the slowest on record, and in both regions, input and final product prices continue to accelerate sharply.
