April US Capacity Utilization 76.1% Vs. Expected 75.8%, Prior Revised 75.7%

April US Industrial Production Rises 0.7% Vs. Expected 0.3% Increase, Prior Revised 0.3% Decline

Canada's March Manufacturing Sales at Highest Level Since January 2025; Unfilled Orders Reach New Record High

Canadian manufacturing sales reached their highest level since January 2025, rising 3.0% to $73.6 billion in March, said the country's statistical agency on Friday.March's manufacturing sales were a tad lower than the 3.5% month-over-month consensus increase provided by MUFG.Sales rose in nine of the 21 subsectors, led by the oil and coal product (+22.7%) and transportation equipment (+6.0%) subsectors, writes Statistics Canada in a note. Excluding the oil and coal product subsector, total manufacturing sales rose 0.7% in March.With the overall gain in March, total manufacturing sales on a year-over-year basis increased 3.5%.In real terms, total sales increased 1.0% month over month in March, while the Industrial Product Price Index was up 2.4%.Unfilled orders reached a new record high, rising 2.4% to $121.3 billion in March, pointed out StatsCan. The increase was driven by the aerospace product and parts industry group (+6.1%). Year over year, total unfilled orders were up 8.5% in March.Total manufacturing inventories increased 1.3% month over month to $124.2 billion in March, on higher inventories of goods in process (+1.8%), raw materials (+1.1%) and finished products (+1.2%).The inventory-to-sales ratio declined from 1.72 in February to 1.69 in March. This ratio measures the time, in months, that would be required to exhaust inventories if sales were to remain at their current level.On a quarterly basis, manufacturing sales edged up 0.1% to $214.1 billion in Q1 2026, the third consecutive quarterly increase.

May Empire State Manufacturing Index Rises More Than Expected to Highest in Over Four Years

The New York Federal Reserve's Empire State manufacturing index rose to 19.6 in May from 11.0 in April, compared with expectations of a decrease to a reading of 7.2 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and the strongest reading in over four years.The Empire State index is the first manufacturing sector reading for May and suggests a faster pace of expansion than in the previous month.There were increases in the readings for new orders and prices paid. The readings for shipment and employment decreased but remained well above their breakeven point.