U.S. Industrial Production Continues Upswing

The U.S. Federal Reserve reported industrial production rose a very strong 1.1% in May, following its April increase of 0.8%. May's score marks the best showing for industrial production since August 1998. Industrial production is a combined measurement statistic whose largest component is manufacturing output. Manufacturing output is a key metric for the bearing industry because it represents the majority of the industry's applications and sales opportunities. In other words, U.S. manufacturing output has a direct and immediate impact on the bearing industry. In May, manufacturing output was up 0.9%, beating the April increase of 0.7%. Overall, manufacturing capacity utilization was 77.8% in May, its highest mark in the three years since May 2001. Jerry Jasinowski, President of the National Association of Manufacturers (and a Timken Company board member, while Tim Timken is the newly-elected Chairman of NAM's Manufacturing Institute) said, "Today's news is even better than it looks on the surface as the gains were widespread, with production increasing in 17 of 19 industries."