Here is why folks who are in the know see the 1st Q report for the nation as an absolute disaster.

U.S. Census Bureau's economic statistics 

Source:  US Government. 

Manufacturing and Trade Inventories and Sales   CHART  RSS Feed  U.S. total business end-of-month inventories for July were $1661.9 billion, up 0.4(+/-0.1%) from last month. U.S. total business sales were $1293.6 billion, up 0.6 percent (+/-0.2%) from last month.				Current 0.4 % change in inventories July 2013	Previous 0.1* % change in inventories June 2013 (r)
Current Press Release:   PDF      XLS	Archived Releases - 1996 - present Historic Time Series -  Time Series/Trend Charts	Released:  September 13, 2013 Next release:  October 11, 2013 Frequency:  Monthly Program Overview
Advance Monthly Sales for Retail and Food Services   CHART  RSS Feed  U.S. retail and food services sales for August reached $426.6 billion, an increase of 0.2 percent (+/- 0.5%)* from the previous month.				Current +0.2* % change August 2013	Previous +0.4 % change July 2013 (r)
Current Press Release:   PDF      XLS	Archived Releases - 1953 - present Historic Time Series -  1992 - present Time Series/Trend Charts	Released:  September 13, 2013 Next release:  October 11, 2013 Frequency:  Monthly Program Overview
Monthly Wholesale Trade: Sales and Inventories   CHART  RSS Feed  July 2013 sales of merchant wholesalers were $426.1 billion, up 0.1 percent (+/-0.4%)* from last month. End-of-month inventories were $500.0 billion, up 0.1 percent (+/-0.4%)* from last month.				Current +0.1* % change in Inv July 2013	Previous -0.2* % change in Inv June 2013 (r)
Current Press Release:   PDF      XLS	Archived Releases - 1990 - present Historic Time Series -  1992 - present, adjusted  1992 - present, not adjusted  Time Series/Trend Charts	Released:  September 11, 2013 Next release:  October 9, 2013 Frequency:  Monthly Program Overview
Quarterly Financial Report - Manufacturing, Mining, Wholesale Trade, and Selected Service Industries   CHART  RSS Feed  Manufacturing corporations' seasonally adjusted after-tax profits were $142.1 billion for the second quarter of 2013, down $8.6 (+/- 0.3) billion from first quarter of 2013.				Current -8.6 $ billion 2nd Qtr 2013	Previous +15.3 $ billion 1st Qtr 2013(r)
Current Press Release:   PDF      XLS	Archived Releases - 1993 - present Historic Time Series -  Time Series/Trend Charts	Released:  September 9, 2013 Next release:  December 9, 2013 Frequency:  Quarterly Program Overview
Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders   CHART  RSS Feed  New orders for manufactured goods in July decreased $12.0 billion or 2.4** percent to $485.0 billion.				Current -2.4** % change July 2013	Previous +1.6** % change June 2013
Current Press Release:   PDF      XLS	Archived Releases - 1992 - present Historic Time Series -  1992 - present (NAICS) 1958 - 2001 (SIC) Time Series/Trend Charts	Released:  September 5, 2013 Next release:  October 3, 2013 Frequency:  Monthly Program Overview
U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services   CHART  RSS Feed  The Nation's international trade balance in goods and services decreased to -$39.1 billion in July from -$34.5 billion in June (revised), as exports decreased and imports increased.				Current -39.1 $ billion July 2013	Previous -34.5 $ billion June 2013 (r)
Current Press Release:   PDF      TXT     XLS	Archived Releases - 1991 - present Historic Time Series -  US Trade Data (various) Country & Product Data (various) Time Series/Trend Charts	Released:  September 4, 2013 Next release:  October 8, 2013 Frequency:  Monthly Program Overview
Quarterly Services Survey   CHART  RSS Feed  U.S. Information sector revenue for the second quarter of 2013, adjusted for seasonal variation but not for price changes, was $310.9 billion, an increase of 0.6 percent (+/- 0.4) from the first quarter of 2013.				Current +0.6 % change 2nd Qtr 2013	Previous +0.1* % change 1st Qtr 2013
Current Press Release:   PDF      XLS	Archived Releases - 2004 - present Historic Time Series -  2004 - present Time Series/Trend Charts	Released:  September 4, 2013 Next release:  December 4, 2013 Frequency:  Quarterly Program Overview
Construction Spending   CHART  RSS Feed  Total construction activity for July 2013 ($900.8 billion) was 0.6 percent (+/-2.0%)* above the revised June 2013 ($895.7 billion).				Current +0.6* % change July 2013	Previous -0.0* % change June 2013
Current Press Release:   PDF      XLS	Archived Releases - 2003 - present Historic Time Series -  1993 - present (new format) 1964 - 2001 (legacy format) Time Series/Trend Charts	Released:  September 3, 2013 Next release:  October 1, 2013 Frequency:  Monthly Program Overview
Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders   CHART  RSS Feed  New orders for manufactured durable goods in July decreased $17.8 billion or 7.3** percent to $226.6 billion.				Current -7.3** % change July 2013	Previous +3.9** % change June 2013
Current Press Release:   PDF      XLS	Archived Releases - 1992 - present Historic Time Series -  1992 - present (NAICS) 1958 - 2001 (SIC)	Released:  August 26, 2013 Next release:  September 25, 2013 Frequency:  Monthly Program Overview
New Residential Sales   CHART  RSS Feed  Sales of new single-family houses in July 2013 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 394,000. This is 13.4 percent (+/- 14.5%)* below the revised June 2013 estimate of 455,000.				Current -13.4* % change July 2013	Previous +3.6* % change June 2013
Current Press Release:   PDF      XLS	Archived Releases - 1995 - present Historic Time Series -  1963 - present Time Series/Trend Charts	Released:  August 23, 2013 Next release:  September 25, 2013 Frequency:  Monthly Program Overview
New Residential Construction   CHART  RSS Feed  Privately-owned housing starts in July 2013 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 896,000. This is 5.9 percent (+/- 14.5%)* above the revised June 2013 estimate of 846,000.				Current +5.9* % change July 2013	Previous -7.9* % change June 2013
Current Press Release:   PDF      XLS	Archived Releases - 1995 - present Historic Time Series -  1959 - present Time Series/Trend Charts	Released:  August 16, 2013 Next release:  September 18, 2013 Frequency:  Monthly Program Overview
Housing Vacancies and Homeownership   CHART  RSS Feed  Homeownership Rate (HR) The homeownership rate in the second quarter 2013 (65.0 percent) was lower than the second quarter 2012 rate (65.5 percent). The homeownership rate in the South was lower than the corresponding second quarter 2012 rate, while the rates in the Northeast, Midwest, and West were not statistically different from the rates a year ago. Rental Vacancy Rate (RVR) The rental vacancy rate in the second quarter 2013 (8.2 percent) was lower than the second quarter 2012 rate (8.6 percent). Homeowner Vacancy Rate (HVR) The homeowner vacancy rate in the second quarter 2013 (1.9 percent) was lower than the second quarter 2012 rate (2.1 percent).				Current 65.0 percent 2nd Qtr 2013 (HR)	Previous 65.5 percent 2nd Qtr 2012 (HR)
Current Press Release:   PDF	Archived Releases - 1994 - present Historic Time Series -  1956 - present Time Series/Trend Charts	Released:  July 30, 2013 Next release:  October 29, 2013 Frequency:  Quarterly
Quarterly Financial Report - Retail Trade   CHART  RSS Feed  After-tax profits for retail corporations with assets of $50 million and over were $16.3 billion for the first quarter 2013, down $7.2 (+/- 0.0) billion from fourth quarter 2012.				Current -7.2 $ billion 1st Qtr. 2013	Previous 8.3 $ billion 4th Qtr. 2012
Current Press Release:   PDF      XLS	Archived Releases - 1993 - present Historic Time Series -  Time Series/Trend Charts	Released:  June 17, 2013 Next release:  September 16, 2013 Frequency:  Quarterly Program Overview