Manufacturing is usually one of the worst places to be when a recession strikes. But there is little doubt that American factories are in fine fettle, benefiting from a surge in consumer spending on goods that has far outpaced the rebound in spending in the far larger services sector. Spending on services, on the other hand, was still 9.3% below its February level in July. It is a change from what has happened in past recessions, where services spending usually holds up while goods spending falls and takes a long time to recover. First, manufacturers are benefiting from pent-up demand that doesn’t have as much of an effect on services industries.

Source: Wall Street Journal September 01, 2020 18:54 UTC