• Industrial production increased 1.1% in April, and the Federal Reserve revised March and February figures — previously estimated as both unchanged — as down 0.6% and up 0.4%, respectively.

• Housing starts were up 2.6% in April over March and 29.9% over April 2011. Permits authorized for future residential construction fell 7% from March but were up 23.7% above April 2011.

• The average retail price of a gallon of on-highway diesel dropped 5.3 cents to $4.004 a gallon during the week ended May 14. The average price was down 5.7 cents from the same week last year.

• U.S. freight railroads’ carloads were down 5.2% for the week ended May 12 compared to the same week last year. Intermodal traffic was up 3.1%.

• First-time claims for unemployment insurance were unchanged at 370,000 claims on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended May 12. The four-week moving average was 377,000, a decrease of 4,750 from the previous week’s revised average.

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