U.S. Economic Indicators

The Small Business Pulse Survey, a weekly experimental data product from the U.S. Census Bureau, has released the fifth week of results showing the effects of COVID-19 on national, state, and regional small businesses.

Detroit Metropolitan Airport experienced a 91% decrease in total passengers in the month of May compared to the same month last year. While U.S. airports saw an 75% decrease in airport travelers over the same weekday last year.

At the beginning of 2020, approximately 16.9 million light vehicle units were anticipated to be sold in the United States for the year. In June 2020, the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) is 13.0 million light vehicle units according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This is a 23.7% decline over the same month last year.

Consumer sentiment decreased 5.6 percentage points in July. In April consumer sentiment decreased by 18.1 Index-points, the largest monthly decline ever recorded. Combined with March’s decline, the two-month drop of 30.0 Index-points was 50% larger than the prior record.

The coronavirus pandemic has impacted all manufacturing sectors. The Manufacturing PMI® registered at 54.2% in July, down 5.6 percentage point from June, according to the Institute for Supply Management® (ISM®).

The largest decreases in contribution to GDP were found in personal consumption expenditures (PCE), private inventory investment, nonresidential fixed investments, and exports.