INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION

Industrial production rose 0.7 percent in February after having increased 0.8 percent in January. At 114.6 percent of its 1997 average, output in February was 2.7 percent above its February 2003 level. Manufacturing output rose 1.0 percent, and the gain was widespread. Mining output increased 0.1 percent, but with temperatures in February somewhat closer to seasonal norms, the output of utilities declined 0.7 percent. The rate of capacity utilization for total industry rose from 76.1 percent in January to 76.6 percent in February.

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION: SUMMARY
Seasonally adjusted

Industrial production	1997=100				Percent change
	2003		2004		2003		2004		Feb. '03 to Feb. '04
	Nov.	Dec.	Jan.	Feb.	Nov.	Dec.	Jan.	Feb.
Total index	112.9	112.9	113.8	114.6	1.0	.0	.8	.7	2.7
Previous estimates	112.9	112.9	113.8		1.0	.0	.8
Major market groups
Final Products	108.9	108.7	109.2	110.1	1.2	-.2	.5	.8	1.7
Consumer goods	107.1	106.9	107.5	108.3	1.1	-.2	.6	.7	1.2
Business equipment	112.7	112.9	113.6	114.8	1.7	.2	.6	1.1	3.9
Nonindustrial supplies	110.4	110.4	111.5	112.1	.8	.0	1.0	.6	2.4
Construction	104.4	104.3	104.6	105.2	1.2	-.1	.3	.6	3.2
Materials	117.9	118.2	119.4	120.2	.8	.3	1.0	.7	3.8
Major industry groups
Manufacturing (see note below)	114.2	114.3	114.6	115.7	1.1	.1	.2	1.0	3.2
Previous estimates	114.1	114.2	114.6		1.0	.1	.3
Mining	93.6	93.5	93.9	94.0	-.1	-.1	.4	.1	.8
Utilities	111.9	111.2	117.1	116.3	.8	-.7	5.3	-.7	-.1

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 comprises those industries included in the North American Industry
Classification System, or NAICS, manufacturing plus the logging and newspaper, periodical,
book and directory publishing industries that have traditionally been considered manufacturing and included
in the industrial sector.

Market Groups

The output of consumer goods rose 0.7 percent in February. The production of consumer durables increased 1.0 percent; all the major components posted gains. The output index for automotive products rose 1.4 percent, and home electronics increased 2.9 percent. The rise in automotive products reflected an increase in the assembly of light motor vehicles from 12.0 million units to 12.3 million units (annual rate). The index for miscellaneous goods posted a 0.3 percent gain, and the index for appliances, furniture, and carpeting edged up 0.1 percent. The production of consumer nondurables advanced 0.7 percent; all of the increase was in non-energy goods. The output of foods and tobacco increased 0.5 percent, and clothing output climbed 0.8 percent. The index for chemical products rose 1.3 percent, and the output of paper products advanced 1.8 percent. Consumer energy products fell 0.2 percent in February, in part as a result of a drop in utility sales to residences.

The production of business equipment rose 1.1 percent in February. The indexes for transit equipment and for information processing equipment each advanced 0.8 percent. The gain in transit equipment reflected higher production of both light vehicles and civilian aircraft. The output of industrial and other equipment increased 1.3 percent. The output of defense and space equipment rose 0.5 percent, to a level 1.0 percent higher than that of February 2003. The indexes for construction supplies and for business supplies each rose 0.6 percent.

The production of industrial materials rose 0.7 percent in February. The output of durable materials increased 1.1 percent, and motor vehicle parts, semiconductors, and computer parts had especially strong gains. The production of nondurable materials rose 1.0 percent, but a dip in the output of utilities contributed to a 0.2 percent decline in energy materials.

Industry Groups

Manufacturing output increased 1.0 percent in February and was 3.2 percent above its year-ago level. The factory operating rate rose 0.6 percentage point, to 75.2 percent, but was still 4.8 percentage points below its 1972-2003 average. The production of durable goods rose 1.0 percent, and the increase was spread across most of the group's subsectors. The industry with the largest gain was machinery, in which output climbed 1.7 percent. The index for computer and electronic products moved up 1.5 percent. Among the high-technology industries, computers and office equipment increased 2.1 percent, and semiconductors and related electronic components advanced 3.0 percent. The output of fabricated metal products was up 1.3 percent; motor vehicles and parts posted a 1.6 percent gain. The following indexes also rose in February but by smaller amounts: wood products; electrical equipment, appliances, and components; aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment; and miscellaneous manufacturing. Primary metals, nonmetallic mineral products, and furniture and related products each moved lower. The production of nondurable goods increased 0.8 percent, and the gains were widespread. The production of chemical products advanced 1.3 percent, and the output of apparel and leather was up 0.8 percent. The production indexes for petroleum and coal products and for plastics and rubber products each increased 1.0 percent or more. The production of food, beverage, and tobacco products climbed 0.7 percent; paper production rose 0.9 percent. The only decrease among the nondurable subsectors was for textile and product mills, in which output fell 0.4 percent. The index for printing and support was unchanged.

Production at mines rose 0.1 percent in February, and the utilization rate edged up to 85.7 percent, a rate 1.2 percentage points below its 1972-2003 average. Output at utilities fell 0.7 percent, and utilization declined to 85.3 percent, 1.6 percentage points below the 1972-2003 average. By stage of processing, capacity utilization for industries in the crude stage increased 0.3 percentage point, to 84.6 percent. Utilization for industries in the primary and semifinished stages increased 0.4 percentage point, to 79.1 percent, and utilization for industries in the finished stage rose 0.6 percentage point, to 72.3 percent.

Notice

With the May 14, 2004, release of the G.17, the comparison base year for the data both in Table 9, Gross Value of Final Products and Nonindustrial Supplies, and in Table 10, Gross-Value-Weighted Industrial Production: Stage-of-Process Groups, will be advanced to 2000 to conform with the comparison base year of the national income and product accounts.

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 and Nonindustrial Supplies
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)

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