This suggests that, within private consumption, services consumption and durable goods consumption in particular have been the driving force of economic recovery these past few years. It is evident that the current economic recovery has also been driven by nonmanufacturing activities (Chart 7).
Before the Lehman shock and the earthquake disaster, nonmanufacturing activities moved in almost the same direction as those in manufacturing, with manufacturing leading the way. Since 2012, when the effects of the earthquake disaster mostly dissipated, the level of nonmanufacturing activities has marked an apparent increase, while manufacturing activities have been lackluster.