Fed report shows U.S. industrial production rose 0.2 percent in August

RP news wires

Industrial production in the United States rose 0.2 percent in August after a downwardly revised increase of 0.6 percent in July, the Federal Reserve Bank announced on September 15. The downward revision in July primarily resulted from newly available data on the output of four industries within manufacturing: iron and steel, construction machinery, paper, and pharmaceuticals. The index for manufacturing output rose 0.2 percent in August after having advanced 0.7 percent in July; the step-down in the rate of increase reflected a fallback in the production of motor vehicles and parts, which had jumped sharply in July. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, manufacturing output increased 0.5 percent in August after having gained 0.2 percent in July. Production at mines moved up 1.2 percent in August, while the output of utilities moved down 1.5 percent. At 93.2 percent of its 2007 average, total industrial production in August was 6.2 percent above its year-earlier level. The capacity utilization rate for total industry rose to 74.7 percent, a rate 4.7 percentage points above the rate from a year earlier and 5.9 percentage points below its average from 1972 to 2009.

 

 

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION: SUMMARY
Seasonally adjusted
 
 
Industrial production
2007=100 Percent change
2010 2010 Aug. '09 to
Aug. '10
Mar.[r] Apr.[r] May[r] June[r] July[r] Aug.[p] Mar.[r] Apr.[r] May[r] June[r] July[r] Aug.[p]
       
Total index   91.0   91.4   92.4   92.5   93.1   93.2     .6     .4    1.1     .1     .6     .2    6.2
   Previous estimates   91.0   91.3   92.5   92.5   93.4           .6     .4    1.3    -.1    1.0    
       
Major market groups      
Final Products   92.7   92.4   94.1   94.1   94.9   94.8     .8    -.4    1.8     .0     .9    -.1    6.1
   Consumer goods   93.4   92.3   94.3   94.2   94.9   94.5     .5   -1.2    2.2    -.2     .8    -.4    4.4
   Business equipment   89.3   90.9   92.2   92.9   93.8   94.4    1.0    1.8    1.4     .7    1.0     .7    9.9
Nonindustrial supplies   83.4   84.7   85.2   85.6   85.6   85.9     .7    1.6     .6     .5     .0     .3    4.0
   Construction   76.1   79.4   79.3   79.4   79.1   79.7    2.3    4.3    -.1     .1    -.3     .8    5.0
Materials   92.1   92.8   93.4   93.4   94.0   94.3     .4     .8     .6     .0     .6     .4    7.1
       
Major industry groups      
Manufacturing (see note below)   88.5   89.2   90.1   89.8   90.5   90.6    1.1     .8    1.0    -.4     .7     .2    6.3
   Previous estimates   88.4   89.1   90.0   89.6   90.6          1.0     .8    1.1    -.5    1.1    
Mining   98.9  100.5   99.7   99.1  100.0  101.2    1.4    1.6    -.8    -.6     .9    1.2    5.6
Utilities   99.0   95.3   99.2  103.1  102.8  101.2   -3.5   -3.8    4.1    4.0    -.3   -1.5    6.0

 

 
 
 
 
 
Capacity utilization
 
Percent of capacity
Capacity
growth
Average
1972-
2009
1988-
89
high
1990-
91
low
1994-
95
high
2008-
09
low
 
2009
Aug.
   
2010 Aug. '09 to
Aug. '10
Mar.[r] Apr.[r] May[r] June[r] July[r] Aug.[p]
       
Total industry   80.6   85.2   78.7   85.1   68.2   70.0   72.8   73.2   74.0   74.1   74.6   74.7    -.5
   Previous estimates                                       72.8   73.1   74.1   74.1   74.8            
       
Manufacturing (see note below)   79.2   85.6   77.2   84.6   65.4   67.6   70.4   71.1   71.8   71.6   72.1   72.2    -.6
   Previous estimates                                       70.4   71.0   71.7   71.4   72.2            
Mining   87.4   86.4   83.6   88.9   79.6   81.7   84.3   85.7   85.1   84.6   85.3   86.3     .0
Utilities   86.7   92.9   84.3   93.3   77.6   77.9   79.7   76.6   79.6   82.7   82.4   81.0    1.9
       
Stage-of-process groups      
Crude   86.5   87.8   84.2   90.0   78.3   80.6   84.2   85.2   84.3   84.0   84.5   85.4    -.7
Primary and semifinished   81.6   86.6   77.9   87.9   65.7   67.1   69.9   70.2   71.6   72.2   72.5   72.4    -.7
Finished   77.5   83.4   77.3   80.5   67.5   69.8   72.3   72.4   73.3   72.8   73.4   73.5     .4

r Revised. p Preliminary.

Market Groups 
The output of consumer goods declined 0.4 percent in August after having risen 0.8 percent in July. In August, the index for consumer durables fell 3.0 percent, with decreases occurring in all of its major components. The output of automotive products recorded the largest drop, 5.2 percent, and the output of appliances, furniture, and carpeting declined 2.1 percent. The decreases in other categories were small. The production of nondurable consumer goods rose 0.3 percent; a gain of 1.0 percent in the non-energy category more than offset a decline in the energy category. Within non-energy nondurables, the indexes for foods and tobacco, for clothing, and for paper products each moved up more than 1.0 percent, and the index for chemical products increased 0.6 percent after having declined for four consecutive months. The production of consumer energy goods fell 2.2 percent in August.

The output of business equipment rose 0.7 percent in August after a gain of 1.0 percent in July. Among business equipment categories, the output of transit equipment increased 1.4 percent in August, and the indexes for information processing equipment and for industrial and other equipment recorded smaller gains. The production of transit equipment was boosted by an advance in the output of civilian aircraft. The index for defense and space equipment fell 0.3 percent after having jumped 1.9 percent in July.

The output of construction supplies rose 0.8 percent in August following a decline of 0.3 percent in July. The index for business supplies was unchanged in August; the output of non-energy business supplies increased 0.4 percent and offset a drop in the sales by utilities to commercial businesses.

In August, the production of materials rose 0.4 percent, and similarly sized gains were recorded in each of the major categories of this index. The output of durable materials moved up 0.4 percent; increases in equipment parts and in other durable parts outweighed a decline in consumer parts. Nondurable materials increased 0.4 percent; the indexes for chemical and paper materials rose, while the index for textile materials fell. The output of energy materials increased 0.3 percent, a gain that reflected a rise in crude oil extraction.

Industry Groups 
Production in manufacturing rose 0.2 percent in August, and the factory operating rate moved up to 72.2 percent, a rate 7.0 percentage points below its 1972 to 2009 average. The output of durable goods edged down 0.1 percent, a decline that reflected a drop in the production of motor vehicles and parts following a sharp increase in July. The output of furniture and related products decreased 1.8 percent in August, but output in this category remained 2.2 percent above its year-earlier level. The indexes for nonmetallic mineral products and for miscellaneous manufacturing also declined. Among other durable goods industries, wood products; primary metals; fabricated metal products; and electrical equipment, appliances, and components recorded output gains of at least 1.0 percent, and the indexes for computer and electronic products and for aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment posted smaller increases.

The index for nondurable goods rose 0.5 percent in August, and gains were recorded for all components other than for textile and product mills and for petroleum and coal products. The largest increases among nondurables were for food, beverage, and tobacco products and for apparel and leather, both of which advanced by more than 1.0 percent. The output of textile and product mills fell 0.3 percent after having jumped 2.3 percent in July, and the output of petroleum and coal products declined 1.7 percent after having increased 1.1 percent in July. The index for other manufacturing (non-NAICS), which consists of publishing and logging, rose 0.9 percent.

Mining production moved up 1.2 percent in August, and the utilization rate rose to 86.3 percent, a rate 1.1 percentage points below its 1972 to 2009 average. The index for utilities fell 1.5 percent; the output of both electric and natural gas utilities declined. The operating rate for utilities fell 1.4 percentage points, to 81.0 percent.

Capacity utilization rates at industries grouped by stage of process were as follows: For the crude stage, utilization increased 0.9 percentage point, to 85.4 percent, a rate that was 1.1 percentage points below its 1972 to 2009 average; for the primary and semifinished stages, utilization edged down 0.1 percentage point, to 72.4 percent, a rate 9.2 percentage points below its long-run average; and for the finished stage, utilization increased 0.1 percentage point, to 73.5 percent, a rate 4.0 percentage points below its long-run average.

 

Ascii Screen reader Summary: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization
Chart   Chart 1: Industrial Production, Capacity, and Capacity Utilization
Chart   Chart 2: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization
Chart   Chart 3: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization, High Technology Industries
Ascii Screen reader Table 1: Industrial Production: Market and Industry Groups (percent change)
Ascii Screen reader Table 2: Industrial Production: Special Aggregates and Selected Detail (percent change)
Ascii Screen reader Table 3: Motor Vehicle Assemblies
Ascii Screen reader Table 4: Industrial Production Indexes: Market and Industry Group Summary
Ascii Screen reader Table 5: Industrial Production Indexes: Special Aggregates
Ascii Screen reader Table 6: Diffusion Indexes of Industrial Production
Ascii Screen reader Table 7: Capacity Utilization: Manufacturing, Mining, and Utilities
Ascii Screen reader Table 8: Industrial Capacity: Manufacturing, Mining, and Utilities (percent change)
Ascii Screen reader Table 9: Industrial Production: Gross Value of Products and Nonindustrial Supplies
Ascii Screen reader Table 10: Gross-Value-Weighted Industrial Production: Stage-of-Process Groups
Ascii Screen reader Table 11: Historical Statistics for IP, Capacity, and Utilization: Total Industry
Ascii Screen reader Table 12: Historical Statistics for IP, Capacity, and Utilization: Manufacturing
Ascii Screen reader Table 13: Historical Statistics for IP, Capacity, and Utilization: Total Industry excluding Selected High-Technology Industries
Ascii Screen reader Table 14: Historical Statistics for IP, Capacity, and Utilization: Manufacturing excluding Selected High-Technology Industries




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