The relationship between manufacturing production and goods output

Abstract

The sharp divergence in the 2001 recession between two key economic indicators-manufacturing production and goods output-could suggest that one indicator is flawed, casting doubt on the reliability of its overall series. This analysis finds no evidence of error. Rather, the strength of spending on consumer-relative to capital-goods and the growth of merchandising services in the sale of consumer goods more likely explain the recent deviation.Manufactures ; Gross domestic product ; Economic indicators