Week in Review: July 4-8

Zack here, guiding you through the week in economic data. Let’s do it.  

Monday

Independence Day

Firework prices were up 35% in 2022, according to the American Pyrotechnic Association, way more than the 8.5% economy-wide inflation. I fell down a rabbit hole of firework consumption data, and sales of display fireworks (the kind set off for holidays) peaked in 2002 at 64.1 million pounds. Turns out patriotism is just as great for the firework industry as you’d think. By 2019, display firework sales were down to just 24.1 million and in pandemic-affected 2021 fell to 12.5 million pounds.

Consumer fireworks sales by weight peaked in 2021. Having lived through a summer of nonstop amateur firework displays in Baltimore, I’m not even a little surprised about that.

Tuesday

Factory Orders

New orders for manufactured goods increased for the twelfth time in the past thirteen months in May, up by $8.4 billion (1.6%) from April. Durable goods industries saw a 0.8% increase while nondurable goods industries saw a 2.3% increase.

I’m not sure what to make of this one. Other signs are pointing toward falling domestic demand (like the ISM manufacturing index last Friday), but those mostly correspond to June, not May. I suspect the June data for factory orders will show a decrease, or at least a significantly slower rate of growth.

Wednesday

Job Opening and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS)