According to the U.S. Federal Reserve, durable goods manufacturing in May increased by 5.8% after declining by 19.3% in April. Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing in May improved substantially as most auto assembly plants reopened, but despite the improvement, output remained more than 60% below its February prepandemic level. Durable goods industries that recorded production increases between 8% and 10% were nonmetallic mineral products, aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment, and furniture and related products. While the improvements are encouraging, it must be noted that these data points are relative to very low levels of activity in April. Year over year, the May 2020 durable goods manufacturing index was 37.4% below the May 2019 reading.
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