The reading for the Chicago Business Barometer for August just hit the lows of 2010.  The reading of 56.7 compares to a reading of 62.3 in July.  Dow Jones had expectations of 57.6 projected, while Bloomberg’s were 56.0.

The negativity was weighed down by a steep drop in new orders which fell to 55.0 in August from 64.6 in July.  About the only decent part of this is that employment at least didn’t fall off a cliff as the August reading was 55.5 versus 56.5 in July.

The other components of the reading formerly known as Chicago Purchasing managers were are as follows:

• Production 57.6 in Aug. vs 65.0 in July
• Order Backlog 56.2 in Aug. vs. 57.6 in July
• Inventories 46.5 in Aug. vs. 50.8 in July
• Deliveries 61.2 in Aug. vs. 59.4 in July
• Prices Paid 57.2 in Aug. vs. 58.1 in July

Isn’t The New Normal just great?
JON C. OGG