INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION
Industrial production increased 0.3 percent in February after an upwardly revised gain of
0.1 percent in January; the increases in November and in December were also revised up slightly.
In February, manufacturing output rose 0.5 percent, the output of mines advanced 0.2 percent,
and the output of utilities fell 1.1 percent. At 118.4 percent of the 1997 average, overall
industrial output in February was 3.5 percent above its February 2004 level. The rate of capacity
utilization for total industry in February rose 0.2 percentage point, to 79.4 percent, a rate 1.6
percentage points below its 1972-2004 average.
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION: SUMMARY
Seasonally adjusted
Industrial production |
1997=100 |
Percent change |
2004 |
2005 |
2004 |
2005 |
Feb. '04 to Feb. '05 |
Nov. |
Dec. |
Jan. |
Feb. |
Nov. |
Dec. |
Jan. |
Feb. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total index |
116.9 |
117.9 |
118.0 |
118.4 |
.3 |
.8 |
.1 |
.3 |
3.5 |
Previous estimates |
116.8 |
117.6 |
117.7 |
|
.1 |
.7 |
.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Major market groups |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Final Products |
115.0 |
115.8 |
115.7 |
116.7 |
.0 |
.7 |
-.1 |
.9 |
4.0 |
Consumer goods |
112.3 |
112.9 |
112.3 |
113.6 |
.0 |
.6 |
-.5 |
1.1 |
2.0 |
Business equipment |
122.1 |
123.6 |
124.8 |
125.2 |
-.5 |
1.2 |
1.0 |
.3 |
8.6 |
Nonindustrial supplies |
113.7 |
114.6 |
114.8 |
114.2 |
.2 |
.8 |
.2 |
-.5 |
2.4 |
Construction |
107.8 |
108.2 |
108.5 |
108.2 |
-.5 |
.4 |
.3 |
-.3 |
3.1 |
Materials |
120.1 |
121.1 |
121.5 |
121.5 |
.6 |
.8 |
.3 |
.1 |
3.3 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Major industry groups |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Manufacturing (see note below) |
119.1 |
119.7 |
120.3 |
120.9 |
.1 |
.5 |
.5 |
.5 |
4.7 |
Previous estimates |
119.0 |
119.5 |
120.1 |
|
.0 |
.4 |
.4 |
|
|
Mining |
90.6 |
91.6 |
91.7 |
91.8 |
1.8 |
1.1 |
.0 |
.2 |
-.3 |
Utilities |
114.9 |
117.7 |
114.4 |
113.2 |
.5 |
2.4 |
-2.8 |
-1.1 |
-3.8 |
Capacity utilization |
Percent of capacity |
Capacity growth Feb. '04 to Feb. '05 |
Average 1972-2004 |
1982 Low |
1988-89 High |
2004 Feb. |
2004 |
2005 |
Nov. |
Dec. |
Jan. |
Feb. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total industry |
81.0 |
70.8 |
85.1 |
77.7 |
78.7 |
79.2 |
79.2 |
79.4 |
1.2 |
Previous estimates |
|
|
|
|
78.6 |
79.1 |
79.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Manufacturing (see note below) |
79.8 |
68.5 |
85.6 |
75.9 |
77.5 |
77.9 |
78.2 |
78.5 |
1.3 |
Previous estimates |
|
|
|
|
77.5 |
77.7 |
78.0 |
|
|
Mining |
87.1 |
78.6 |
85.8 |
87.1 |
85.9 |
86.9 |
86.9 |
87.2 |
-.5 |
Utilities |
86.8 |
77.7 |
92.8 |
87.9 |
84.7 |
86.6 |
84.1 |
83.1 |
1.8 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stage-of-process groups |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Crude |
86.4 |
77.3 |
88.9 |
85.1 |
85.7 |
86.6 |
86.4 |
86.4 |
-.2 |
Primary and semifinished |
82.1 |
68.0 |
86.5 |
79.9 |
80.0 |
80.7 |
80.6 |
80.2 |
2.2 |
Finished |
77.9 |
71.1 |
83.1 |
73.6 |
75.7 |
76.0 |
76.2 |
77.1 |
.3 |
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 increased 1.1 percent in February after having fallen 0.5
percent in January. The index for consumer durable goods rose 3.6 percent and was boosted by a
surge in the output of automotive products and a jump in the output of home electronics.
Appliances, furniture, and carpeting posted a modest gain, but the production of miscellaneous
durable goods moved lower. The index of consumer nondurable goods edged up 0.2 percent, as
a gain in the output of non-energy nondurables was partly offset by a drop in the output of
consumer energy products. Nevertheless, among non-energy nondurables, the index for clothing
fell for a third consecutive month, and the production of paper products tumbled 1.2 percent after
a large increase in January. In contrast, the indexes for foods and tobacco and for chemical
products both posted strong gains.
The production of business equipment increased 0.3 percent after a gain of 1.0 percent in
January. Increases in the output of information processing equipment and of transit equipment
were partly offset by a drop in the output of industrial and other equipment. The production of
defense and space equipment recorded an increase of 0.5 percent, to a level 8.5 percent above
that of a year earlier.
The output of non-industrial supplies fell 0.5 percent in February as both construction
supplies and business supplies moved lower. The materials index, however, edged up 0.1
percent. The production of durable materials, boosted by increases in consumer parts and in
equipment parts, rose 0.6 percent. But the output of nondurable materials fell 0.5 percent, and
lower electric power generation contributed to a small decline in energy materials.
Industry Groups
Manufacturing production rose 0.5 percent in February, and the factory operating rate
advanced 0.3 percentage point, to 78.5 percent, the highest rate since November 2000.
Nevertheless, the factory operating rate was still 1.3 percentage points below its 1972-2004
average. In February, the production of durable goods increased 1.0 percent, largely because of a
jump of more than 5 percent in the output of motor vehicles and parts and a rise in the production
of computer and electronic products. Among selected high-technology industries, the output of
computer and peripheral equipment again rose about 3/4 percent, and the production of
communications equipment posted a 2.3 percent gain. The increase in the output of
semiconductor and related electronic equipment slowed last month after gains of more than 3
percent in the previous two months. The indexes for most of the other major durable goods
categories were little changed or down. The production of nondurable goods rose 0.2 percent as
the indexes for food, beverage, and tobacco products and for petroleum and coal products posted
strong gains. However, a drop of 1.2 percent in the production of textile and product mills
reversed the January increase, and the output of apparel and leather fell 1.4 percent. Output in
most other major nondurable manufacturing industries also fell. Production of non-NAICS
manufacturing (logging and publishing) moved lower as well.
The 0.2 percent increase in the output of mining reflected a gain in nonmetallic mineral
mining; both coal mining and crude oil extraction were little changed. The drop of 1.1 percent in
the output of utilities was the result of declines in the output of electric utilities and natural gas
utilities.
Capacity utilization for industries in the crude stage of processing was unchanged at 86.4
percent, a rate that matches its 1972-2004 average. The operating rate for industries in the
primary and semifinished stages fell to 80.2 percent, partly because of a drop in utilities output.
However, the utilization rate for finished goods producers rose almost 1.0 percentage point, to
77.1 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 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
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