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- The Chicago Business Barometer™, produced with MNI reversed -8.9 points to 46.9 from 55.8 in November. This unwinds most of the increase seen in last month’s reading, returning the Chicago Business Barometer™ back into contractionary territory, but still almost 3 points above the September and October readings.
- All the main subcomponents which feed into the headline number fell compared to November levels with Employment, Inventories and New Orders returning to contractionary territory.
- Order Backlogs declined -13.4 points to the lowest since August 2023 and the third lowest since H2-2020
- Production dipped -3.6 points to 58.8 points, remaining in expansion, and the second highest reading of 2023. This was driven by the second highest proportion of respondents reporting unchanged production since the 1970s with a larger fall in those reporting higher production than lower.
- New Orders slipped -10.2 points, but remained above the 2023 average. The decline was due to less respondents seeing more New Orders, whilst same and fewer levels of New Orders reported rose.
- Employment dropped -8.8 points to 45.1, returning to contraction after 2 months of expansion and with the lowest proportion of respondents noting higher employment levels since H2-2020. • Supplier Deliveries slowed -5.0 points but remained in expansion for the second consecutive month. • Inventories slumped -14.7 points to the lowest level since July 2023.
- Prices paid, in contrast, jumped +10.1 points to 70.0, the highest level since August 2023. • The survey ran from December 1 to December 18.
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