Release Date: April 15, 2003
Release dates | Historical data | Documentation
Current Monthly Release Other formats: ASCII | PDF (144 KB)
Supplemental Monthly Release Other formats: ASCII | PDF (144 KB)
Annual Revision Release Other formats: ASCII | PDF (150 KB)
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION
Industrial production fell 0.5 percent in March and is now estimated to have edged down 0.1 percent in February. Manufacturing output declined 0.2 percent in March, but excluding motor vehicles and parts, it was little changed for the second consecutive month. Output at utilities fell 4.1 percent after having increased noticeably in the past two months. Mining output moved up 0.6 percent and was 1.2 percent above the level of March 2002.
At 110.1 percent of its 1997 average, output in March was 0.5 percent above its year-earlier level. For the first quarter as a whole, industrial output increased at an annual rate of 0.4 percent. Capacity utilization for total industry decreased to 74.8 percent, 0.5 percentage point below the rate a year earlier and 6.5 percentage points below its 1972-2002 average.
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION: SUMMARY
Seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 1997=100 | Percent change
| ----------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------
| 2002 2003 | 2002 2003 | Mar. '02 to
Industrial production | Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. | Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. | Mar. '03
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | |
Total index | 109.9 110.8 110.7 110.1 | -.8 .8 -.1 -.5 | .5
Previous estimates | 110.1 111.0 111.1 | -.6 .8 .1 |
| | |
Major market groups | | |
Final Products | 106.0 107.1 106.8 106.3 | -1.0 1.0 -.3 -.4 | -.8
Consumer goods | 106.6 107.7 107.4 106.8 | -1.0 1.0 -.3 -.5 | -.6
Business equipment | 104.6 105.7 105.4 105.1 | -1.3 1.0 -.3 -.2 | -2.5
Nonindustrial supplies | 113.9 114.7 115.0 114.2 | -.9 .7 .3 -.7 | .8
Construction | 102.4 102.6 102.2 102.0 | -1.4 .3 -.4 -.2 | -1.9
Materials | 112.4 113.1 113.1 112.5 | -.6 .7 .0 -.5 | 1.7
| | |
Major industry groups | | |
Manufacturing (see note below) | 110.6 111.3 111.0 110.8 | -.9 .6 -.3 -.2 | .1
Previous estimates | 110.8 111.5 111.4 | -.7 .6 -.1 |
Mining | 95.2 93.8 94.2 94.7 | 1.7 -1.5 .4 .6 | 1.2
Utilities | 110.5 114.9 116.4 111.6 | -1.4 4.0 1.3 -4.1 | 3.4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | Capacity
| Percent of capacity | growth
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------
| Average 1982 1988-89 2002 | 2002 2003 | Mar. '02 to
Capacity utilization | 1972-2002 Low High Mar. | Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. | Mar. '03
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | |
Total industry | 81.3 70.8 85.1 75.3 | 74.9 75.4 75.3 74.8 | 1.1
Previous estimates | | 75.1 75.6 75.6 |
| | |
Manufacturing (see note below) | 80.2 68.6 85.6 73.5 | 73.0 73.4 73.1 72.9 | .8
Previous estimates | | 73.2 73.6 73.4 |
Mining | 86.9 78.6 85.6 84.8 | 86.4 85.1 85.3 85.8 | .1
Utilities | 86.7 77.2 92.6 86.9 | 84.8 87.8 88.5 84.5 | 6.4
| | |
Stage-of-process groups | | |
Crude | 86.4 77.2 88.6 82.2 | 83.7 82.7 82.9 83.3 | -.3
Primary and semifinished | 82.2 67.9 86.2 76.9 | 77.3 78.0 78.0 77.1 | 1.6
Finished | 78.5 71.3 83.1 71.9 | 70.2 70.7 70.3 70.2 | .9
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
r Revised. p Preliminary.
The statistics in this release cover output, capacity, and capacity utilization in the
industrial sector, which the Federal Reserve defines as manufacturing, mining, and electric and
gas utilities. Manufacturing consists of those industries included in the North American Industry
Classification System, or NAICS, manufacturing plus those industries-logging and newspaper, periodical,
book and directory publishing-that have traditionally been considered manufacturing and included
in the industrial sector.
Market Groups
In March, the output of consumer goods fell for a second consecutive month and posted a 0.5 percent decline. The 1.3 percent drop in the production of automotive products largely reflected a decline in motor vehicle assemblies. Home electronics ticked down slightly, while a 0.5 percent decrease in the production of appliances, furniture, and carpeting partially retraced a sizable gain in the previous month. The production of nondurable goods moved down, with a decline of 2.9 percent in energy products accounting for the decrease. Among non-energy nondurables, foods and tobacco were unchanged, while the output of chemical products increased 0.5 percent, its third consecutive monthly gain.
The index for business equipment moved down 0.2 percent in March and stood 2.5 percent below its level in March 2002. Sharp declines in transit equipment and industrial and other equipment more than offset a moderate increase in the output of information processing equipment. The production of defense and space equipment rose 0.3 percent, its fourth consecutive monthly gain; this index increased at an annual rate of 8.3 percent in the first quarter.
The output of construction supplies declined 0.2 percent in March, and the output of business supplies dropped 0.9 percent. In the first quarter, the output of construction supplies fell at an annual rate of 4.5 percent, about the same as the rate of decline in the previous quarter.
The production of materials, which fell 0.5 percent in March, was held down by a 1.5 percent drop in the output of energy materials. The production of non-energy materials also moved down; declines in the production of parts for consumer goods and textiles were only partially offset by gains in the output of equipment parts and chemicals. Downward revisions to the equipment parts index in January and February were due mostly to lower estimates of semiconductor output.
Industry Groups
Decreases in manufacturing output in February and March largely reversed the increase in January. For the first quarter as a whole, manufacturing output fell at an annual rate of 0.7 percent, its second consecutive quarterly decline. The overall factory operating rate edged down 0.2 percentage point last month, to 72.9 percent. The 0.4 percent decline in the production of durable goods in March was mostly due to declines in the output of machinery, metals, and motor vehicles and parts. The index for computers and electronic products posted a 0.8 percent gain and was 5.1 percent above its year-earlier level. Within nondurables, increases in the output of chemicals, paper, and petroleum and coal products were offset by declines in plastics and rubber products, printing and support, apparel and leather, and textile and product mills. The production of other (non-NAICS) manufacturing industries (publishing and logging) increased for the second consecutive month.
Output at mines increased again in March, and the utilization rate rose to 85.8 percent, 2.1 percentage points above its recent low in September 2002. Unusually warm weather led to a 4.1 percent decline in output at utilities. Both natural gas and electricity generation contributed to the decreased production.
By stage of processing, capacity utilization for industries in the crude stage rose to 83.3 percent in March and fell to 77.1 percent for industries in the primary and semifinished stage. For industries in the finished goods category, capacity utilization declined to 70.2 percent.
G.17 Release Tables:
| 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 |
| Ascii | Screen reader | Table 10: Gross-Value-Weighted Industrial Production: Stage-of-Process Groups |
| Ascii | Screen reader | Table 11: Electric Power Use: Manufacturing and Mining |
| Ascii | Screen reader | Table 12: Historical Statistics for IP, Capacity, and Utilization: Total Industry |
| Ascii | Screen reader | Table 13: Historical Statistics for IP, Capacity, and Utilization: Manufacturing |
| Ascii | Screen reader | Table 14: Historical Statistics for IP, Capacity, and Utilization: Total Industry excluding Selected High-Technology Industries |
| Ascii | Screen reader | Table 15: Historical Statistics for IP, Capacity, and Utilization: Manufacturing excluding Selected High-Technology Industries |
Release dates | Historical data | Documentation
Current Monthly Release Other formats: ASCII | PDF (144 KB)
Supplemental Monthly Release Other formats: ASCII | PDF (144 KB)
Annual Revision Release Other formats: ASCII | PDF (150 KB)