Industrial Output Climbs Strongly - Good News for Industrial Equipment & Component Stocks

Excerpt from our One Page Annotated Wall Street Journal Summary (receive it by email every morning by signing up here):

U.S. Industrial Output Jumps, Amid Strong Business Investment

• Summary: U.S. industrial production - output from factories, mines and utilities - rose strongly by a seasonally-adjusted 0.8% last month, up 4.5% from last year. 'Economists said last month's gains, which followed a soft performance in May, reflected strong demand for productivity-enhancing equipment, rising U.S. exports and inventory building by businesses.' The strong number suggests that factory expansions will be necessary to keep pace with ongoing brisk demand for U.S. manufactured products in the coming months.
• Comment on related stocks/ETFs: Should be good news for industrial infrastructure companies such as Masco Corp. (MAS), Parker-Hannifin (PH) and Shaw Group (SGR), as well as Walter Industries (WLT) and its recently spun-off IPO Mueller Water Products (MWA). Note, though, that Masco is heavily exposed to the weak homebuilding sector.