A surge in retail sales and rising manufacturing output suggest the U.S. economy’s strong growth in the second quarter continued into the third. Retail sales—a measure of spending at U.S. stores, websites and restaurants—rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in July from the prior month, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. That was well ahead of economists’ […]
The U.S. trade deficit expanded in June at the fastest rate since November 2016, driven by a stronger dollar and buoyant economic growth. The trade deficit in goods and services increased 7.3% in June from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted $46.35 billion, the Commerce Department said Friday. Exports fell 0.7% from May, while […]
Chinese real-estate investors, facing pressure from Beijing, are reversing a yearslong buying spree in the U.S. where they often paid record prices for marquee properties like New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel. Chinese insurers, conglomerates, and other investors have turned net sellers of U.S. commercial real estate for the first time in a decade. They have […]
Southern California home sales hit the brakes in June, falling to the lowest reading for the month in four years. Sales of both new and existing houses and condominiums dropped 11.8 percent year over year, as prices shot up to a record high, according to CoreLogic. The report covers Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, […]
The manufacturing sector staged a quick turnaround in June after a fire at the plant of a Ford pickup-truck supplier knocked output lower the previous month, extending a solid run of growth for U.S. industrial activity. The fire, which occurred May 2 at a parts plant in Michigan operated by a unit of China’s Wanfeng […]
American factory activity accelerated for the second straight month this summer, in part because manufacturers were scrambling to move goods ahead of threatened tariffs. The Institute for Supply Management on Monday said its manufacturing index rose to 60.2 in June from 58.7 in May. Numbers above 50 indicate activity is expanding across the manufacturing sector, […]
The creative economy of the Los Angeles region saw significant job growth between 2011 and 2016, with statewide creative employment now exceeding the pre-recession highs observed more than 10 years ago, according to a new study. The annual Otis Report on the Creative Economy, which was released Tuesday, noted that direct employment in the Los […]
Yet, manufacturing’s contributions to the economy are far out of proportion to its shrinking share of employment. In 2013, the manufacturing sector employed 12 million workers, but generated an additional 17.1 million indirect jobs. It has the largest multiplier of any economic sector: each dollar’s worth of manufactured goods generates $1.40 in output from other […]
The Chinese market expanded by 72 percent over the previous year in 2017, solidifying China’s leadership position in EV sales. The country now has a larger EV market—primarily BEVs—than Europe and the United States combined. With a sales share of around 94 percent, domestic OEMs currently dominate the Chinese EV market. Generous subsidies and tight […]
Slightly higher pump prices aren’t leading consumers to more efficient cars, however, and lower interest in cars such as the Ford Fusion or Nissan Altima is pulling down the broader market. Sales of the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord tumbled 5% and 19%, respectively, in April. Both models were redesigned recently. Sales of SUVs and […]
Spending at U.S. retailers bounced back in March, but the broader trend in consumer spending shows moderate growth despite a solid labor market and growing worker paychecks. The Commerce Department reported that retail sales reversed three straight months of declines in March, rising 0.6% from the prior month thanks largely to a bump in auto […]
Manufacturing, long the sick patient in the U.S. economy as multinationals outsourced jobs, has added nearly 300,000 positions since the November 2016 election, increasing payrolls in 16 of the past 17 months. That included 22,000 positions last month. Overtime hours are up and orders are on the rise, making the current stretch among the strongest […]
U.S. factories reported robust demand for their products in March but say rising prices for materials, tied to new tariffs, threaten to slow the industry’s expansion. The Institute for Supply Management said Monday its index of factory activity settled at 59.3 in March, down slightly from 60.8 the prior month. Any reading above 50 indicates […]
The U.S. trade position worsened in February, raising the stakes in the Trump administration’s intensifying effort to narrow the gap between what the U.S. imports and what it sells abroad. The trade deficit in goods and services rose to $57.6 billion in February, the Commerce Department said Thursday, the sixth straight monthly increase and the […]