Sunday, November 2, 2008

Chicago PMI's Scary Numbers


From Jake at EconompicData.com here is a depiction of the components of the Chicago PMI that was released on Friday. For an analysis, consider these comments from Across the Curve.

Scary doesn’t do this report justice. This abysmal report follows all
other pre-ISM regional reports which carried the same tone - an abrupt change occurred in Oct. The plunge in the headline index left it at the lowest level since the 2001 recession. Demand side indicators collapsed. The 21.4 point drop in New Orders was the worst since the series began in 1968; the 40.5 drop in Production was the worst since its inception in 1946! The excess supply signal has never been worse - the New Orders-Inventories spread was -24.0. Price pressures eased rapidly - the 27.0 point drop in the Prices paid index was a record since 1946!
I think that sums it up perfectly. We may be getting the credit component of this crisis under a semblance of control (MAYBE) but the problems with the larger economy are just coming to light. There is a long way to go.
Tom Lindmark