U.S. Review Short on Supplies
The CDC's relaxation of its mask mandate occurred mid-May, and as data for that month begins rolling in this week, it is evident there is no lack of demand. Supplies, on the other hand, are a worsening problem. Napoleon famously observed that an army marches on its stomach; in a similar vein, an economy can grow only as fast as its supply chains. The message from this week's economic data is that it is not enough to overcome a pandemic and provide federal relief to households and businesses for the past 15 months, the global flow of raw materials and input components needs to be restored in order for this or any modern economy to run at full steam.
This was evident in the ISM manufacturing survey that kicked off the data flow at the start of this holiday-shortened week. This bellwether of industrial activity exceeded consensus expectations coming in at 61.2 in May, half a point higher than the prior month. The subcomponents moved in both directions. The story that emerges is one of a manufacturing sector that could be growing much faster were it not for supply-side growing pains.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 08 April 2022
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Apr 11, 2022
Wednesday\'s release of the FOMC minutes stirred things up as comments showed committee members agreeing that elevated inflation and the tight labor market at present warrant balance sheet reduction to begin soon.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 02 October 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Sep 29, 2020
In what was a jam-packed week of economic data, the jobs report, prospects of additional fiscal stimulus and the president’s positive COVID-19 test result commanded markets’ attention.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 30 October 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Oct 27, 2020
Real GDP jumped a record 33.1% during Q3, beating expectations. A 40.7% surge in consumer spending drove the gain.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 17 November 2023
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Nov 23, 2023
Retail and Industrial activity were stronger than the headline data suggest, there are also some signs of weakening.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 09 October 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Oct 12, 2020
Weekly first time unemployment claims highlighted an extraordinarily slow week for economic news. Jobless claims fell slightly but continuing claims fell by one million.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 11 March 2022
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Mar 16, 2022
Russia\'s invasion of Ukraine continues to consume nearly all media attention and has created a level of volatility that is not yet reflected in the data released this week.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 15 November 2019
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Nov 16, 2019
Retail sales beat expectations and rose 0.3% in October, reflecting the ongoing strength of the consumer. Control group sales, a major input to GDP, also increased 0.3%.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 24 September 2021
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Oct 10, 2021
While fears of an Evergrande default in China were rattling financial markets, for those of us in Southeast Texas who have survived the typically very hot months of July, August and September, this week brought the very welcome first early fall-like
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 06 January 2023
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Jan 12, 2023
During December, payrolls rose by 223K while the unemployment rate fell to 3.5% and average hourly earnings eased 0.3%. Job openings (JOLTS) edged down to 10.46 million in November.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 16 October 2021
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Oct 22, 2021
The first economic data released this week in the United States reinforced the theme that labor supply and demand are struggling to come into balance.
