Income Growth above Average for Second Month

January real disposable income was $13,260 billion real dollars (seasonally adjusted at an annual rate). This was the highest level of disposable income ever. In addition, the month-over-month rate of growth was 4.2% in December. Excluding a few months that were artificially inflated due to tax law changes, this was the fastest month-over-monht rate of growth in disposable income since May 2008. The historical average month-over-month rate of change is 3.1%. This was the second month in a row of above average growth. This pushed the annual rate of growth to 2.6%, which was the fastest rate of growth since February 2013. We should see further acceleration in the annual rate of change over the next few months. This was a very positive report for the future of durable goods manufacturing.

Real disposable income is one of the earliest leading indicators for the following end markets: aerospace; construction materials; custom processors; electronics/computers/telecommunications equipment; food/beverage processing; forming/fabricating (non-auto); hardware; HVAC; industrial motors/hydraulics/mechanical components; machinery/equipment manufacturing; metalcutting job shops; oil/gas field/mining machinery; power generation; primary metals; and printing.