This was lower than 1.0% estimate

  • The Profits with inventories and capital adjustments: -1.4% vs +3.1% in the 3Q
  • Profits after-tax with inventory and capital adjustments: -1.6% vs 4.7% in the 3Q

Looking at the breakdown of the profits, the domestic industry profits rose by +0.3% for the quarter, while the profits from the "rest of the world" were down -8.8%. It seems the rising dollar certainly has influenced the profits (with more headwinds in the 1st quarter expected).