May inventories totaled 1.814 million units, up 0.9% from April and up 60.4% from 1.150 million units in May 2022. The continued recovery in auto production rates has helped dealers start to rebuild their depleted inventories. The current inventory levels, when combined with May's sales pace, equates to 33 days of supply.
U.S. raw steel production continued to move higher last week, climbing to its highest weekly output since last August. U.S. steelmakers produced 1.737 million tons at a 77.2% utilization rate, topping 76% for the fifth straight week. The current YTD utilization rate is at 75.1%, down 3.9% compared to the same time last year.
Climbing for the second consecutive month and for the sixth time in the last seven months, new home sales came in at a 683,000-unit rate in April. This is up 4.1% from March and up 11.8% from the 611,000 unit rate in April 2022, making it the first month with a year-over-year increase since May 2021.
After holding flat for the previous two months, the Industrial Production Index increased to 103.0 in April, up from 102.5 previously. In addition, the Manufacturing component increased 1.0% to 99.8, boosted by gains in motor vehicle output. The boost in auto production helped to overcome the decline in miscellaneous manufacturing. Overall capacity utilization increased to 79.7%, right at the fifty-year average.
Prices for all goods and services increased 4.93% from April 2022, down slightly from the 4.98% increase in March. This is the lowest year-over-year increase in prices since April 2021, but still well above the 2.0% target. The largest factor in the increase was led by the shelter index followed by used vehicles, vehicle insurance, furniture, personal care, apparel, and education.
Total spending increased to a $1.835 trillion rate, up 0.3% from February and up 3.8% from March 2022. While residential construction spending continued to slide, the continued recovery in non-residential spending pushed total spending higher. Non-residential spending now accounts for 54.3% of the total spending, the highest rate since October 2020.
March new home sales came in at a 683,000 unit rate, up 9.6% from February but still down 3.4% from a 707,000 unit rate in March 2022. Q1 actual sales are up nearly 40% from total sales in Q4 2022. Despite the pick up in sales, the amount of homes for sale at the end of the month was flat compared to February. The end of month inventory of 425,000 homes, when combined with March's sales pace, equates to 6.4 months of supply.
The April Housing Market Index came in at 45, up slightly from 44 in March but well below the 77 from April 2022. The lack of resale inventory only partly offset negative impacts from high interest rates and increased building material costs. Within the HMI, both the current condition component and the sales expectation component increased.
While still climbing in March, this was the lowest, year-over-year, increase for prices since April 2021. The March Consumer Price Index saw a 0.33% increase from February and a 4.98% from March 2022. The shelter index was by far the largest contributor to the monthly increase, more than offsetting the decline in energy. Other indexes with increases are vehicle insurance, furniture, recreation, and new vehicles.
Cleveland Cliffs announced another price increase this week, marking the ninth increase of this cycle. Cliffs raised pricing another $100/t for all flat rolled products and set minimum HRC at $1,300/t ($65.00/cwt).
