It would appear that the channel-stuffed awesomeness of the auto manufacturing business has caught up with the inexorable reality of demand (even with uber cheap credit and subprime financing). January's Industrial Production missed positive (+0.2%) expectations and fell -0.1% for the first time in 3 months. What drove the slide? A 5.5% plunge - the largest in 6 months - in vehicle production (which dragged Manufacturing production -0.4% overall). This slide in Industrial Production does not offer much additional hope/hype for those looking to discard Q4's negative GDP print and expecting a Q1 jump.
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Chart: Bloomberg