Revisions, Weather And Shortages Blur U.S. IP Report

The April industrial production report (+0.7% M/M vs +0.9% consensus) was weak on the surface but more than made up for by higher revisions (Mar revised up to +2.4% from +1.4%).

• Motor vehicle assemblies dropped due "principally" to a shortage in semiconductors, with some industry groups impacted as "supply chain difficulties possibly hindering production".
• Some large weather effects playing a role overall, incl on revisions: "An important contributor to the gain in factory output was the return to operation of plants that were damaged by February's severe weather in the south central region of the country and had remained offline in March. The weather-induced drop in total industrial production in February and the subsequent rebound in March are now estimated to have been larger than reported last month."
• IP now up 16.5% from the April 2020 low, but still 2.7% below pre-pandemic levels.