EconoIndicators

Industrial Production At a Glance

• Industrial Production Index: 111.7
• (Base year 2002, Seasonally Adjusted)
• Monthly Change: Up 0.5%
• Manufacturing Change: Up 0.2%
• Mining Change: Up 1.1%
• Utilities Change: Up 2.1%
• Capacity Utilization: 79.4%
• Long Run Average Capacity Utilization: 81%

Technorati Tags: industrial, production, capacity, utilization, manufacturing, mining, utilities

Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization
G.17

Industrial production advanced 0.5 percent in June after having fallen 0.2 percent in May. Industrial
production for the second quarter as a whole dropped 3.1 percent (annual rate) from the first quarter.
Manufacturing output gained 0.2 percent in June and was boosted by a jump of 5.4 percent in the output of
motor vehicles and parts; activity resumed at motor vehicle parts and assembly plants that had been idled
by a strike that began in late February and ended in late May. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, factory
output edged down 0.1 percent. Outside of manufacturing, the output at mines increased 1.1 percent, and
the output at utilities was up 2.1 percent. At 111.7 percent of its 2002 average, total industrial
production was 0.3 percent above its level of a year earlier. In June, the capacity utilization rate for
total industry moved up to 79.9 percent, a level 1.1 percentage points below its average for 1972-2007.

Market Groups
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The production of consumer goods increased 0.7 percent in June. The output of automotive products
surged 6.2 percent, but other major categories of consumer durables posted declines. The indexes for
appliances, furniture, and carpeting and for miscellaneous consumer goods both fell; although the index for
home electronics also declined in June, it increased 24.3 percent (annual rate) in the second quarter. The
production of nondurable goods advanced 0.2 percent in June. Higher output of both fuels and electricity
helped push the index for consumer energy products up 1.2 percent. Non-energy nondurable consumer goods
declined 0.1 percent, as a drop in the production of foods and tobacco more than offset increases in the
output of clothing, chemical products, and paper products. For the second quarter, the indexes for
clothing, chemical products, and paper products all fell, but the index for foods and tobacco posted an
increase.

The output of business equipment rose 0.2 percent in June. Production of transit equipment was up 1.7
percent, and the index for information processing and related equipment increased 1.1 percent. The output
of industrial and other equipment fell 0.8 percent, and for the second quarter as a whole, this index
declined at an annual rate of 10.6 percent.

The output of defense and space equipment increased 1.2 percent in June after having fallen in the
previous four months.

Among nonindustrial supplies, the production of construction supplies was off 0.9 percent in June; it
dropped 6.5 percent (annual rate) in the second quarter. The index for business supplies edged up 0.1
percent in June, but it still fell 2.7 percent (annual rate) for the second quarter as a whole.

Materials output increased 0.5 percent in June, in part because of an increase of 1.0 percent in energy
materials. Excluding energy, materials output moved up 0.3 percent. The production of durable materials
advanced 0.7 percent: A pickup in the production of motor vehicle parts boosted the index for consumer
parts, and an increase in the index for semiconductors, printed circuit boards, and other equipment helped
push up the index for equipment parts. The production of nondurable materials fell 0.4 percent, with
declines in all the major components: textiles, paper, and chemicals.

Industry Groups
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Production in manufacturing increased 0.2 percent in June. The factory operating rate was unchanged at
77.6 percent, a level 2.1 percentage points below its 1972-2007 average. For the second quarter as a
whole, manufacturing output decreased 3.7 percent (annual rate); this index has posted declines for the
past three quarters. Production of durable goods rose 0.7 percent in June. In addition to the jump in the
output of motor vehicles and parts, the indexes for wood products, primary metals, computer and electronic
products, and aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment all posted gains. The indexes for
nonmetallic mineral products, fabricated metal products, machinery, furniture and related products, and
miscellaneous manufacturing moved lower. The output of nondurable goods fell 0.3 percent. Declines in the
indexes for food, beverage, and tobacco products; textiles and product mills; paper; printing and support;
and chemicals were only partly offset by higher output of apparel and leather products, petroleum and coal
products, and plastics and rubber products.

The index for other manufacturing industries (non-NAICS), which consist of logging and publishing, rose
0.8 percent.

The output of electric and gas utilities increased 2.1 percent in June, and the operating rate for
utilities moved up 1.6 percentage points, to 86.5 percent. Mining production advanced 1.1 percent, and
capacity utilization in this industry rose to 91.2 percent, a rate 3.7 percentage points above its
1972-2007 average.

Capacity utilization rates at industries grouped by stage of process were as follows: For the crude
stage, utilization edged up 0.1 percentage point, to 89.7 percent, a rate 3.1 percentage points above its
1972-2007 average; for the primary and semifinished stages, utilization moved up 0.3 percentage point, to
79.9 percent, a rate 2.3 percentage points below its long-run average; and for the finished stage,
utilization increased 0.2 percentage point, to 76.0 percent, a rate 1.7 percentage points below its
long-run average.

G17 Industrial Production - June 2008 [PDF]

G17 Industrial Production - June 2008 [Text]

Source: Federal Reserve Board