The Big Picture
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 10/25/2004
Productivity increased 6.9 percent in manufacturing in the second quarter. In the durable goods sector, productivity grew 4.9 percent, reflecting an increase in output of 5.9 percent and growth in hours of 1 percent.
Retail salesU.S. retail and food services sales for September were $341.3 billion, up 1.5 percent from the previous month and 7.7 percent from September 2003, according to the Commerce Department.
Producer pricesThe Producer Price Index increased 0.1 percent in September, the Department of Labor reported. The increase followed a 0.1-percent decline in August and a 0.1-percent rise in July, according to the department.
