Manufacturing Output Climbs Back to Pre-COVID Levels

Despite the latest surge in coronavirus cases across the country, the U.S. manufacturing sector continues to rebound from the initial shock brought about by the lockdown in spring.

According to the Census Bureau’s latest report on Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories, & Orders, new orders for manufactured goods in November were up 1 percent over revised October figures, marking the seventh consecutive month of positive sequential growth. Meanwhile the total value of shipments, also up seven consecutive months, increased by 0.7 percent in November on a seasonally adjusted bases.

While the gradual rebound shows that things have been noticeably improving since May, factory output still falls just short off pre-pandemic levels. As our chart shows, the value of U.S. manufacturers’ shipments was 1.3 percent below last year’s total in November, and has been trailing 2019 levels since the pandemic hit in March.