Midwest Manufacturing Output Declines Sharply in December
The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index (CFMMI) fell 2.9% from November to
December, reaching a seasonally adjusted level of 165.5 (1992=100). Revised data show the
index was at 170.4 in November, and had fallen 0.9% from October. The Federal Reserve
Board’s industrial production index for manufacturing (IPMFG) declined 1.1% in December
after having fallen by 0.6% in November. December output in the region was 1.6% higher
than a year earlier, while output in the nation was 2.6% higher. May 1999 is the last time
Midwest manufacturing growth from a year earlier was less than the nation’s.