INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION
Industrial production increased 0.4 percent in July. Manufacturing output increased 0.5 percent, and mining output rose 1.7 percent; but with unseasonably mild July weather, electric utility output fell more than 3 percent. At 145.3 percent of its 1992 average, industrial production in July was 5.8 percent higher than in July 1999. Capacity utilization for total industry rose 0.1 percentage point, to 82.3 percent, a level 0.3 percentage point above its 1967-99 average.
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION: SUMMARY
Seasonally adjusted
| Index, 1992=100 | Percent change
| 2000 | 2000 | July 99 to
Industrial Production | Apr. May June July | Apr. May June July | July 00
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| | |
Total index | 143.5 144.4 144.8 145.3 | .8 .6 .2 .4 | 5.8
Previous estimates | 143.5 144.3 144.6 | .8 .5 .2 |
| | |
Major market groups: | | |
Products, total | 131.0 131.0 131.0 131.3 | .5 .0 .0 .3 | 3.5
Consumer goods | 118.6 118.5 118.5 117.9 | .5 -.1 .0 -.5 | 1.0
Business equipment | 185.0 185.8 186.2 188.6 | 1.1 .5 .2 1.3 | 9.3
Construction supplies | 139.2 137.4 136.7 137.1 | .2 -1.3 -.5 .3 | 2.9
Materials | 165.0 167.6 168.7 169.6 | 1.2 1.6 .7 .5 | 9.5
| | |
Major industry groups: | | |
Manufacturing | 149.3 150.2 150.7 151.6 | .6 .5 .4 .5 | 6.8
Durable | 186.8 189.0 190.3 191.4 | 1.2 1.2 .7 .6 | 10.1
Nondurable | 113.5 113.2 113.1 113.7 | -.1 -.3 .0 .5 | 2.4
Mining | 101.2 101.1 102.0 103.7 | -.1 -.1 .9 1.7 | 6.1
Utilities | 114.9 117.8 114.8 111.0 | 3.7 2.5 -2.5 -3.3 | -7.4
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| | Capacity
| Percent of Capacity | Growth
| Average 1982 1988-89 1999 | 2000 | July 99 to
Capacity Utilization | 1967-99 Low High July | Apr. May June July | July 00
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| | |
Total industry | 82.0 71.1 85.4 80.7 | 82.0 82.3 82.2 82.3 | 3.8
Previous estimates | | 82.1 82.2 82.1 |
| | |
Manufacturing | 81.1 69.0 85.7 79.7 | 81.3 81.4 81.4 81.6 | 4.2
Advanced processing | 80.5 70.4 84.2 78.6 | 80.5 80.9 81.0 81.2 | 5.4
Primary processing | 82.4 66.2 88.9 82.9 | 83.8 83.3 83.0 83.2 | 1.6
Mining | 87.3 80.3 88.0 81.3 | 84.7 84.7 85.6 87.2 | -1.0
Utilities | 87.5 75.9 92.6 93.9 | 89.2 91.3 88.9 85.9 | 1.3
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Note: Estimates for July are preliminary. Estimates from April to June are revised.
Market Groups
The output of consumer goods fell 0.5 percent in July, as the production of consumer durables fell sharply. The production of automotive products dropped 6.6 percent, a decline reflecting a large decrease in motor vehicle assemblies. The output of other durable goods fell 0.6 percent; the sector, particularly household appliances, has been weak over the past several months. During the first half of this year, the output of consumer durable goods was up 4-1/4 percent from a year earlier; with the large drop in July, output was just even with its level of July 1999. Nondurable consumer goods moved up 0.3 percent in July; widespread increases in the production of non-energy products were partially offset by a 2.0 percent drop in the output of energy goods as mild July weather reduced residential sales of electricity.
The production of business equipment rose 1.3 percent, with most groups posting gains. Reflecting the ongoing strength in the output of computers and communications equipment, the index for information processing equipment increased 2.6 percent after a relatively small rise in June; gains in this sector have averaged about 1-3/4 percent per month so far this year. The production of industrial equipment was up noticeably, more than reversing the decline in June, and was 4.6 percent higher than July 1999. With a drop in the production of both autos and light trucks, the output of transit equipment decreased for the third consecutive month. Production of defense and space equipment jumped 2.1 percent in July after an upward-revised 1.5 percent increase in June; gains in the production of guidance and navigation equipment have accounted for much of the recent strength in this sector.
After having declined sharply over the previous two months, the index for construction supplies increased 0.3 percent in July. The output of durable goods materials rose 1.1 percent, with another sizable increase in equipment parts, particularly semiconductors. The production of nondurable goods materials stayed flat and continued the sluggish pattern that has been evident this year. Driven largely by a weather-related decline in electricity generation, the output of energy materials dropped 0.8 percent.
Industry Groups
Manufacturing output advanced 0.5 percent in July, a rise similar to the increases over the past few months. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, the gain in July was 0.9 percent. The production of both durables and nondurables posted strong increases. The 0.6 percent gain in durables was once again led by high-technology equipment and parts; however, the production of motor vehicles and parts plunged 5.5 percent. Iron and steel output fell 0.7 percent and, on balance, has eased over the past few months. The production of nondurables, which was unchanged in June, advanced 0.5 percent. Strong rebounds in production at many industries, most notably petroleum and apparel, along with further increases in rubber and plastics and printing and publishing, accounted for most of the output gain. The overall factory operating rate rose 0.2 percentage point, to 81.6 percent, with small increases in both advanced-processing and primary-processing industries.
Production at mines increased 1.7 percent after having risen 0.9 percent in June. The utilization rate at mines increased to 87.2 percent, a bit below its long-run average. Output at utilities, which dropped 2.5 percent in June, moved down another 3.3 percent in July; the operating rate at utilities fell, to 85.9 percent.
Revision of Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization
In November the Federal Reserve Board will publish a revision to the index of industrial
production (IP), the related measures of capacity and capacity utilization, and industrial use of
electric power. The updated measures will reflect both the incorporation of newly available,
more comprehensive source data typical of annual revisions and, for some series, the
introduction of improved compilation methods. The revision will also include a refinement of
the method used to aggregate the individual series in the production and capacity indexes. The
new source data are for recent years, primarily 1997 through 1999, and the modified methods
affect data from 1992 onward.
This statistical release will be redesigned with the release of the revision. More special
aggregates will be added, but some detailed industry data will be available only on the Federal
Reserve Board's public web site. Additional details regarding the redesign will be provided next
month.
This regular updating of source data for IP will include annual data from the following
reports of the Bureau of the Census: the 1997 Census of Manufactures, the 1998 Annual Survey
of Manufactures, and selected editions of its 1998 and 1999 Current Industrial Reports. Annual
data from the U. S. Geological Survey on metallic and nonmetallic minerals (except fuels) for
1998 and 1999 will also be introduced. The updating will also include revisions to the monthly
indicator for each industry (either physical product data, production-worker hours, or electric
power usage) and revised seasonal factors.
Capacity and capacity utilization will be revised to incorporate preliminary data from the
1999 Survey of Plant Capacity of the Bureau of the Census, which covers manufacturing, along
with other new data on capacity from the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Energy,
and other organizations. The statistics on the industrial use of electric power will incorporate
additional information received from utilities for the past few years and will include some data
from the 1997 Census of Manufactures and 1998 Annual Survey of Manufactures.
Aggregate industrial production indexes have been built as annually weighted chain-type
indexes, beginning with data in 1977; the weights are currently changed at the middle of every
year. With the coming revision, the weights will change every month, rather than once a year,
beginning with data for 1992.
Once the revision is published, it will also be made available on the Board's web site
(http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g17). The revised data will also be available through
the web site of the Department of Commerce. Further information on these revisions is
available from the Board's Industrial Output Section (telephone 202-452-3197).
G.17 Release Tables:
G.17: Release |Release dates |About |ASCII |PDF (199 KB) |Historical data
