Commentary
“Initial estimate of fourth-quarter 2021 annualized real gross domestic product (GDP) showed that the bulk of recent economic growth and ‘recovery,’ in second-half 2021, reflected no more than a continued, accelerating pace of buildup in unsold inventories, resulting from extraordinarily weak demand. ... Of the stronger than expected headline fourth-quarter 2021 real annualized GDP growth of 6.89%, final sales (GDP net of the excess inventory buildup) was just 1.88%; that followed weaker than expected third-quarter 2021 real annualized GDP growth of 2.30%, with final sales of just 0.08%, net of the buildup of unsold inventories in that quarter,” said John Williams, founder of Shadow Government Statistics.
