Federal Reserve Statistical Release, G.17, Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization; title with eagle logo links to Statistical Release home page
Release Date: March 17, 2006
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INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION

Industrial production increased 0.7 percent in February after a decrease of 0.3 percent in January. The output of utilities jumped 7.9 percent in February, as the weather moved closer to seasonal norms after January�s warm temperatures. Mining output decreased 0.5 percent in February, and manufacturing production was unchanged after a gain of 0.8 percent in January. At 110.9 percent of its 2002 average, overall industrial output in February was 3.3 percent above its February 2005 level. Because of the jump in utilities output, the rate of capacity utilization for total industry rose 0.4 percentage point, to 81.2 percent, a level just above its 1972-2005 average of 81.0 percent. Capacity utilization in manufacturing edged down in February to 80.4 percent, a rate 0.6 percentage point above its 1972-2005 average.

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION: SUMMARY
Seasonally adjusted
 
 
Industrial production
2002=100 Percent change
2005 2006 2005 2006 Feb. '05 to
Feb. '06
Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb.
       
Total index  109.4  110.4  110.2  110.9     .9    1.0    -.3     .7    3.3
   Previous estimates  109.5  110.5  110.3          1.1     .9    -.2    
       
Major market groups      
Final Products  111.6  112.3  112.1  112.7     .1     .7    -.2     .6    4.2
   Consumer goods  105.7  106.6  105.8  106.6    -.8     .8    -.7     .8    1.8
   Business equipment  125.8  126.4  127.9  128.0    2.2     .4    1.2     .1   10.4
Nonindustrial supplies  110.4  111.1  109.4  110.3     .7     .7   -1.5     .8    3.8
   Construction  113.4  113.2  113.3  113.0    1.0    -.2     .1    -.2    6.2
Materials  106.9  108.3  108.5  109.3    1.9    1.4     .2     .7    2.2
       
Major industry groups      
Manufacturing (see note below)  111.7  112.2  113.1  113.1     .8     .4     .8     .0    4.2
   Previous estimates  111.7  112.2  113.0           .7     .5     .7    
Mining   93.1   95.7   97.8   97.3    4.5    2.8    2.3    -.5   -3.5
Utilities  104.8  108.9   96.4  104.0   -1.0    3.9  -11.5    7.9    2.2


 
 
 
Capacity utilization
 
Percent of capacity
Capacity
growth
Feb. '05 to
Feb. '06
Average
1972-2005
1994-95
High
2001-02
Low
2005
Feb.
2005 2006
Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb.
       
Total industry   81.0   85.0   73.9   80.0   80.5   81.2   80.8   81.2    1.8
   Previous estimates                           80.6   81.2   80.9            
       
Manufacturing (see note below)   79.8   84.5   72.0   78.9   79.9   80.1   80.5   80.4    2.3
   Previous estimates                           79.8   80.1   80.5            
Mining   87.3   89.0   85.6   89.9   83.2   85.5   87.5   87.1    -.4
Utilities   86.7   93.7   83.7   82.7   85.4   88.7   78.5   84.7    -.2
       
Stage-of-process groups      
Crude   86.4   89.4   83.2   88.8   81.8   84.1   86.1   86.0    -.7
Primary and semifinished   82.1   88.1   74.6   81.4   82.5   83.2   81.3   82.2    2.7
Finished   77.9   80.5   70.8   76.4   78.3   78.5   79.1   79.1    1.4

Market Groups

The output of consumer goods climbed 0.8 percent in February; the increase was driven primarily by a jump of 6.0 percent in the production of consumer energy goods. The production of consumer durables increased 0.l percent. The production gains for appliances, furniture, and carpeting and for miscellaneous goods were mostly offset by a decline of 1.8 percent in the index for home electronics; the output of automotive products was unchanged. The output of non-energy nondurable consumer goods decreased 0.2 percent; the indexes for paper products, chemical products, and clothing all moved down.

After having risen more substantially in January, the production of business equipment edged up 0.1 percent in February to stand 10.4 percent above its year-ago level. Among the major categories of business equipment, the production of information processing equipment climbed for a second consecutive month, but the indexes for transit equipment and for industrial and other equipment turned down. The index for defense and space equipment increased further, with a gain of 0.5 percent that reflected the settlement of a strike at a producer of guided missiles and space vehicles. The production of business supplies rose 1.2 percent and was bolstered by a rebound in the output of commercial energy products; the production of non-energy business supplies was little changed. The index for construction supplies decreased 0.2 percent. Production gains for construction supplies have moderated so far this year after strong advances in the fourth quarter of last year.

The production of industrial materials rose 0.7 percent. The output of energy materials gained 1.6 percent. Among non-energy materials, the output of both nondurables and durables rose 0.3 percent, with gains of more than 1 percent in the indexes for equipment parts (in durables) and paper materials (in nondurables).

Industry Groups

Manufacturing production was unchanged in February, and the factory operating rate edged down to 80.4 percent. The output of durable goods increased 0.2 percent. The largest gains were in aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment, furniture and related products, computer and electronic products, and fabricated metal products. The durable goods industries in which output decreased included wood products, which declined a good bit for a second consecutive month; motor vehicles and parts; electrical equipment, appliances, and components; and machinery. The production of nondurable goods edged down 0.1 percent. Output in both the petroleum and coal products industry and the textile and product mills industry declined more than 1 percent, and smaller decreases occurred in apparel and leather, chemicals, and plastics and rubber products. Printing and support was the only major nondurable industry in which output climbed by more than 1 percent; smaller production increases came in the paper industry and in the food, beverage, and tobacco product industry. Production in the non-NAICS manufacturing industries (logging and publishing) decreased 0.2 percent in February after having declined 1.1 percent in January.

Capacity utilization for industries in the crude stage of processing was little changed at 86.0 percent, a rate 0.4 percentage point below its 1972-2005 average. For industries in the primary and semifinished stages, the utilization rate increased 0.9 percentage point, to 82.2 percent, as a result of the rebound in utilities output. For producers in the finished stage, the utilization rate was unchanged at 79.1 percent, a rate 1.2 percentage points above its 1972-2005 average of 77.9 percent.

Note. The statistics in this release cover output, capacity, and capacity utilization in the U.S. industrial sector, which is defined by the Federal Reserve to comprise manufacturing, mining, and electric and gas utilities. Mining is defined as all industries in sector 21 of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS); electric and gas utilities are those in NAICS sectors 2211 and 2212. Manufacturing comprises NAICS manufacturing industries (sector 31-33) plus the logging industry and the newspaper, periodical, book, and directory publishing industries. Logging and publishing are classified elsewhere in NAICS (under agriculture and information respectively), but historically they were considered to be manufacturing and were included in the industrial sector under the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. In December 2002 the Federal Reserve reclassified all its industrial output data from the SIC system to NAICS.

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: 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



Release dates | Historical data | Data Download |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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