Confidence, Manufacturing Slip Slightly

Both consumer confidence and manufacturing activity slipped slightly in April, but both remained on the positive side of the ledger, according to reports released Monday.

When consumers feel good about the economy, they are more likely to make purchases, which could lead to more shipments for trucks to haul.

Citing a declining stock market that may have raised doubts about the economy, the Conference Board reported that its Consumer Confidence Index slipped to 108.8 in April from 110.7 the previous month.

Also released Monday was the Chicago Purchasing Manager’s Index, which slipped to 54.7 in April from 55.7 in March. The index measures manufacturing activity in the Midwest, a major industrial region of the United States.

Despite the declines, both indicators stayed above their respective break-even points.

Figures over 100 in the consumer confidence index signal optimism about the economy, so the decline from March’s revised figure demonstrates that Americans are still upbeat about the economy as a whole, although not as much as in March.

For the purchasing manager’s index, the 50 figure is significant because numbers above that indicate growth and numbers below 50 point to contraction. April is the third straight month that regional manufacturing expanded following 16 months of contraction between August 2000 and this February.

Bloomberg said that analysts had expected larger, but not significant, drops in both indexes.

8803