December 2012 Industrial Production Improves At Slower Rate

Written by Steven Hansen The headlines say Industrial Production (IP) increased 0.3% in December 2012 and up 2.2% year-over-year. Econintersect's analysis using the unadjusted data is that IP was down 1.0% month-over-month and up 1.7% year-over-year. Per the Federal Reserve, for the fourth quarter as a whole, total industrial production moved up at an annual rate of 1.0%. The year-over-year rate of growth has been degrading significantly over the last three months.  Maybe not a recession warning, but a definite sign of a slowing economy. The year-over-year growth of Industrial Production was the lowest readings in 2012. The market was expecting a month-over-month increase of 0.1% to 0.2% (vs the headline growth gain of 0.3%). The manufacturing sub-index (which is more representative of economic activity) was up 0.8% month-over-month - and up 2.4% year-over-year - seasonally adju...