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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tom Smith who wrote (95591)	4/18/2001 9:18:26 AM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

>> Auto Production Brightens U.S. Outlook John M. Berry Washington Post Service Wednesday, April 18, 2001 WASHINGTON After slashing production for several months, the U.S. auto industry turned around last month, government data showed Tuesday, signaling that the worst might be over for the battered U.S. manufacturing sector. The increase in automobile and light-truck assemblies was large enough to cause overall industrial production to rise 0.4 percent last month after five consecutive monthly declines. Many analysts had expected yet another drop. Another report, from the Labor Department, showed that inflation remained in check. Consumer prices rose 0.1 percent last month after larger increases in January and February. Over the past 12 months, the overall consumer price index rose 2.9 percent, and the core index, excluding food and energy costs, rose 2.7 percent. Production cuts at U.S. factories have been the principal reason the economy has barely grown for the past six months. The auto industry led the way late last year as it slowed or temporarily shut assembly lines and laid off workers, seeking to slash the number of unsold new cars and light trucks on dealers' lots. With those unwanted vehicles now largely gone, the industry raised its vehicle assemblies last month to an annual rate of 11.17 million from 10.32 million in February, the Fed said. "The increase in industrial production is a welcome first sign of recovery after five months of declining numbers," said Jerry Jasinowski, head of the National Association of Manufacturers. But he also noted that the gains had been concentrated in the auto sector, home electronics and information processing equipment. "We're not really out of the slowdown woods yet," he said. Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, said manufacturing was still soft and likely to remain that way for a while. The issue for Mr. Shepherdson and many others is whether consumer spending will continue to increase or whether falling confidence will cause households to reduce spending. "Looking forward, we think the slowdown focus is shifting to consumers," he said. Also on Tuesday, the Commerce Department said housing starts fell slightly last month but remained relatively high. The housing sector has been one of the stronger parts of the economy in recent months and appears likely to remain so, analysts said. New homes were started at an annual rate of 1,613,000 units last month, down from 1,634,000 in February. But starts were even stronger in January, and the rate of starts in the first three months of the year was well above that of the last six months of 2000. << iht.com