The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago reported Monday that the Midwest Manufacturing Index increased 0.4 percent in November, while the region's industrial production index for manufacturing increased 0.3 percent over the same period. Regional output in November rose 7.9 percent from a year earlier, and national output increased 6 percent.
Steel output in the Midwest was up 2.3 percent in November over the previous month, and up 18 percent over November 2009. Machinery sector output was up 1.4 percent in November over October, a 12.1 percent year-over-year increase.
Automotive output in the region declined 2.2 percent in November, although production was still up 6.1 percent from the year-earlier period.
The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index (CFMMI) is a monthly estimate by major industry of manufacturing output in the Seventh Federal Reserve District states of lllinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin. It is a composite index of 15 manufacturing industries that uses hours worked data to measure monthly changes in regional activity.