Manufacturing activity in the Midwest rose by 0.6% in April, the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank said Tuesday, while the Fed's industrial production index for manufacturing rose by 0.7%.
Regional output in April was 6.3% higher than a year earlier and above the increase of 5.9% in national output.
Output in the Midwest machinery sector increased by a robust 2.3% in April after a 1.7% advance in March. The country's machinery output rose 1.8% in April. Regional machinery output in April was 11.7% above year-ago levels, and national output was up 15.1%.
The Midwest resource sector's output increased 1.2% after an increase of 0.6% in March. Increases in regional chemical, paper, nonmetallic mineral, and food production were somewhat offset by a decrease in wood production in April, the Chicago Fed said. The region's steel sector output was unchanged after rising 0.6% in March, while auto sector production fell 0.5% in April versus March but was up 5.5% compared with a year earlier.
The Midwest is defined as the five states comprising the 7th Federal Reserve District: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin.