China Industrial Growth Slows, Power Generation Negative 1st Time in 4 Years

Townhall.com ^ | September 14, 2014 | Mike Shedlock

[Kaslin]

China's Economic Numbers

• Industrial Output: +6.9%
• Power Generation: -2.2%
• Retail Sales: +11.9%
• Fixed Asset Investment: +16.9%
• Mortgages issuance: -4.5%

End of the Line for China's Growth

That set of numbers should raise concerns about overheating, not worries over economic slowdowns.

Yet, "The government must take forceful policy measures to stabilize growth," said Li Huiyong, an analyst at Shenyin & Wanguo Securities in Shanghai.

It's time to be realistic. China cannot and will not grow at 7% forever.

Stimulate Now, Crash Later

Calls for more stimulus with the above set of numbers is beyond ridiculous given China's vacant malls, massive pollution problems, unused rail lines, reckless investment in SOEs, and even entire vacant cities.

Malinvestment is already rampant. Additional stimulus now to meet arbitrary growth targets will cause a crash later. China will be lucky to average 2% growth for a decade. Outright contraction in some years is not out of the question.

[Rodamala]

America can only buy so many plastic fake dog turds before everyone has enough to last a lifetime.

[familyop]

China, crashing according to popular propaganda since 2007 and still generating.

[familyop]

"Industrial Output: +6.9%"

Yep, looks like a collapse.

"Retail Sales: +11.9%"

Oh, yeah--"overheating!" Those Chinese spendthrifts, they just don't know how to be frugal or save.

;-)

[zeestephen]

Re: China is crashing!

Waiting for this really has become kind of ridiculous.

However, in terms of productivity, China still is a Third World country.

American manufacturing employees produce six times more value than their Chinese counterparts.

And in agriculture, Americans are about ten times more productive.

And, in sharp contrast, the 20 year stagnation of Japan’s economy was predicted by exactly nobody.

[blam]

China Is Weakening, And It's Bringing Down Everything Else

[RipSawyer]

I don’t have nearly enough of those, do you think I can get a real deal on ten or twenty thousand more now? I also need about five hundred of the “Big Mouth Billy Bass” singing fish plaques, I want to cover the entire walls of a 17 x 28 foot room with them. I am known for my exquisite taste in decor. The only thing I refuse to put on the walls of my dwelling are pictures of Democrats, just too disgusting.

[Rodamala]

I don’t have nearly enough of those, do you think I can get a real deal on ten or twenty thousand more now? I also need about five hundred of the “Big Mouth Billy Bass” singing fish plaques, I want to cover the entire walls of a 17 x 28 foot room with them. I am known for my exquisite taste in decor. The only thing I refuse to put on the walls of my dwelling are pictures of Democrats, just too disgusting.

It would seem you have 476 square feet of space on the floor for fake rubber vomit too! The ceiling may be tricky.

[toast]

That doesn’t look like an economic slowdown to me.

Industrial Output: +6.9% (more product)
Retail Sales: +11.9% (more money made)
Fixed Asset Investment: +16.9% (more equipment purchased)

It does look like they may be getting more efficient.
Power Generation: -2.2% (less power needed)
Mortgages issuance: -4.5% (less space needed)

These all looks like what happens to an economy that is automating.

[familyop]

American "based" manufacturing on foreign soil (including high tech.) is doing great as reflected in a small percentage of the Dow "industrials" (most of the industrials not being really industrial).

China's Superpower Economy
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2007/12/chinas-superpower-economy
The Heritage Foundation
December 28, 2007
By John J. Tkacik, Jr.
"Despite breathless media reports about the World Bank revising downward its estimate for the size of China's economy,[1] what the figures really show is that China has indeed overtaken the United States in manufacturing output."

China Passes The US As Largest Manufacturer
March 14, 2011 5:41 am EDT
http://247wallst.com/investing/2011/03/14/china-passes-the-us-as-largest-manufacturer/

U.S. Falling Behind China in High-Tech Manufacturing October 30, 2011
http://economyincrisis.org/content/us-falling-behind-china-high-tech-manufacturing

China became world’s top manufacturing nation, ending 110 year US leadership
http://en.mercopress.com/2011/03/15/china-became-world-s-top-manufacturing-nation-ending-110-year-us-leadership

[familyop]

Here's where the jobs with adequate incomes are--almost all of them. Such employment allows plenty of time and money for the contemporary political class to regulate and legislate against productive activities in the formerly employed private sector.

Leviathan (Uncle Sam employs more people than you think)
National Review ^ | 02/03/2011 | Iain Murray
"...nearly 40 million Americans employed in some way by government."

Heavy Hitters: Top All-Time Donors, 1989-2014
http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/list.php
American Fedn of State, County & Municipal Employees $60,949,129 [Democrat] 81% [Republican] 1%”

[zeestephen]

Yes, I know that China is the “largest” manufacturer.

My point was...

China has about 100 million manufacturing workers.

In the USA, that number is about 14 million.

But, the value of American output is only 10%-15% behind China, even though China has 7 times more workers.