NAM: Retail Sales Up 18 Percent Due To Stimulus, Rebounding Economy Retail sales fell 1.3 percent in May, pulled lower by sharply reduced sales at motor vehicles and parts dealers, among other segments, according to Chad Moutray, Ph.D. and Chief Economist at the National Association of Manufac- turers (NAM). Yet, it is important to put the current data into perspective. Retail spending has soared 18.0 percent since February 2020, buoyed by stimulus benefits and a rebounding economy. In addition, retail sales should con- tinue to grow strongly over the coming months as the U.S. economy continues to reopen and as supply chain disrup- tions in the marketplace stabilize. Manufacturing production rose 0.9 percent in May, bouncing back after edging down 0.1 percent in April. More importantly, output in the manufacturing sector is off just 0.5 percent from pre-pandemic levels, and manufacturing capacity utilization increased from 74.9 percent in April to 75.6 percent in May, the best rate since December 2019. Manufacturing activity in the New York and Philadel- phia 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.
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Robyn Smith at 910-553-4055 /rsmith@nvpublications.com Len Prazych at 518-366-9017 / lprazych@nvpublications.com
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