Proving That 24% of Americans Are Ignorant Asshats

h/t ThinkProgress

New Manufacturing Data Suggests Deeper Recession Coming

Folks,

It isn’t “bad” yet. It is only beginning.

From my perspective as an equipment salesman to factories, I get the leading indicator whether or not manufacturing will grow (or not). I was asked by one of my Principals to provide my monthly forecast and honestly, I don’t see a single robot selling in January (with one possible exception that has been lingering for months: which is never a good sign). People and companies are hoarding their money.

I took my mother and family to lunch at the most popular resaraunt in town (which is normally packed) and it was barren.

I drive down main street and there are hardly anyone around, much less shopping. Red Sale signs and no people to buy.

There is but two major employers in this town and both have had lay-offs with more to come (one may shut down all together).

Every machine builder and integrator I call on is basically begging me to find them business (which I do when I can). Normally, in more robust times, my phone rings constantly, but I will bet that I receive less than 5 calls THIS WEEK.

People are getting desperate and are beginning the looting and thievery, especially in the big towns (just ask my Bro, Raw Dawg).

Now, it isn’t just a redneck spouting his observations, it is backed with data:

The Wall Street Journal (1/3, Evans, Matthews) reported, “Manufacturing activity around the world fell sharply in December, suggesting that the U.S. recession will extend well into 2009, if not longer, and that unemployment will rise globally.” According to “separate surveys of manufacturing activity around the world released on Friday, the first business day of the new year, were also bleak.” The Journal continues, “The simultaneous woes of manufacturing in rich countries and poor countries are something new in the global economy. In the past, weaknesses in U.S. and European manufacturing meant a windfall for developing economies, which took up the slack. … The struggles of big steel companies are particularly troubling, because that industry’s health is considered an early indicator of how other industries are faring.”

The Washington Post (1/3, D1, Schneider, Shin) reported on the front page of its Business section, “The Institute for Supply Management’s index of industrial production slipped from 36.2 percent in November to 32.4 percent in December, the lowest level since June 1980″ and “None of the industries covered in the survey reported an expansion in their business, and the drop registered not just in the institute’s index of production, but also in the volume of new orders and raw material costs.” Meanwhile, “prices paid for raw materials fell by 7.5 percentage points to 1949 levels.” Analysts said “none of Friday’s reports bodes well for the first three months of 2009.” They said “that whether the global economy bounces back in the second half of 2009 depends on the success of government stimulus efforts.”

The Financial Times (1/3, Guha) reported, “Spanish and German companies experienced acute problems. The findings will add to pressure on the European Central Bank to cut interest rates again this month.” John Ryding and Conrad DeQuadros, at RDQ Economics, said the new data showed “the global nature of the economic contraction.” They said “the case for a massive global fiscal stimulus continues to grow.”

The Chicago Tribune (1/3, Boak) reported, “Manufacturers such as Advance Lifts Inc. have a simple resolution this year: survive. Expecting a 35 percent drop-off in annual sales, Advance Lifts Chief Executive Hank Renken recently laid off 19 of 72 workers in St. Charles who make such products as hydraulic loading docks.” In addition, “Steel mills, chemical plants, computer assembly lines and even industrial bakeries are bearing the brunt of a global recession that has struck with alarming force since October.”

AFP (1/5) reports that manufacturers were said to be “reducing inventories and shutting down capacity to offset the slower rate of activity caused by a prolonged recession. In the machinery sector, respondents to an ISM survey said Europe ‘has slowed down dramatically, while Asia — particularly China — has virtually shut down.’” Analysts said “there was no sign that the US industrial activity decline was easing, citing the new numbers.”

Bloomberg News (1/5, Chandra) reports, “Clogged credit markets, the collapse in housing and mounting job losses have hurt demand for everything from furniture and appliances to automobiles, driving General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC to the brink of bankruptcy. The ISM’s employment index decreased to 29.9 from 34.2 in November. The gauge of prices paid fell to 18, reflecting the drop in commodity costs. Economists had projected that the measure, which averaged 65 in 2007, would drop to 20.”