INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION
[2007 Revision Notice Below]
Industrial production was unchanged in December; the change in the index over the previous three
months was little revised, with offsetting revisions to September and October. For the fourth quarter,
output fell 1.0 percent (annual rate), the first quarterly decrease since the fourth quarter of 2006. At
114.0 percent of its 2002 average, total industrial production in December was 1.5 percent above its
year-earlier level. Output in the manufacturing sector was unchanged in December. The output of utilities
decreased 0.2�percent in December as a result of a decline at gas utilities; the output at mines edged up
0.1�percent after an increase of 1.0 percent in November. Capacity utilization for total industry posted a
small decrease in December, to 81.4 percent, a rate slightly below its year-earlier level but 0.4
percentage point above its 1972-2006 average.
Industrial production |
2002=100 | Percent change | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | 2007 | Dec. '06 to Dec. '07 |
|||||||
Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | ||
Total index | 114.2 | 113.7 | 114.0 | 114.0 | .1 | -.5 | .3 | .0 | 1.5 |
Previous estimates | 114.4 | 113.6 | 113.9 | .3 | -.7 | .3 | |||
Major market groups | |||||||||
Final Products | 115.2 | 114.3 | 114.6 | 114.9 | .2 | -.8 | .3 | .3 | 1.2 |
Consumer goods | 109.5 | 108.6 | 108.7 | 108.8 | .0 | -.8 | .1 | .1 | .9 |
Business equipment | 134.2 | 133.3 | 134.1 | 135.3 | .8 | -.7 | .7 | .8 | 2.4 |
Nonindustrial supplies | 111.5 | 111.0 | 110.8 | 110.5 | .2 | -.4 | -.2 | -.3 | .3 |
Construction | 109.3 | 108.6 | 108.3 | 107.3 | -.2 | -.7 | -.2 | -.9 | -2.2 |
Materials | 114.3 | 114.1 | 114.6 | 114.3 | .0 | -.2 | .5 | -.3 | 2.3 |
Major industry groups | |||||||||
Manufacturing (see note below) | 116.1 | 115.4 | 115.7 | 115.7 | .2 | -.6 | .3 | .0 | 1.1 |
Previous estimates | 116.1 | 115.3 | 115.8 | .2 | -.6 | .4 | |||
Mining | 101.7 | 101.6 | 102.6 | 102.7 | 1.2 | .0 | 1.0 | .1 | .2 |
Utilities | 109.7 | 109.8 | 109.8 | 109.6 | -1.6 | .0 | .0 | -.2 | 6.9 |
Capacity utilization |
Percent of capacity |
Capacity growth Dec. '06 to Dec. '07 |
|||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Average 1972-2006 |
1994-95 High |
2001-02 Low |
2006 Dec. |
2007 | |||||
Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | ||||||
Total industry | 81.0 | 85.1 | 73.6 | 81.6 | 81.9 | 81.4 | 81.6 | 81.4 | 1.8 |
Previous estimates | 82.1 | 81.4 | 81.5 | ||||||
Manufacturing (see note below) | 79.8 | 84.6 | 71.6 | 80.5 | 80.4 | 79.8 | 79.8 | 79.7 | 2.1 |
Previous estimates | 80.4 | 79.7 | 79.9 | ||||||
Mining | 87.4 | 88.9 | 84.8 | 92.3 | 91.2 | 91.2 | 92.1 | 92.1 | .4 |
Utilities | 86.7 | 93.7 | 83.8 | 81.8 | 86.6 | 86.6 | 86.5 | 86.2 | 1.4 |
Stage-of-process groups | |||||||||
Crude | 86.5 | 89.5 | 82.0 | 89.6 | 90.0 | 89.4 | 90.6 | 90.3 | .5 |
Primary and semifinished | 82.2 | 88.2 | 74.6 | 81.7 | 82.6 | 82.0 | 82.1 | 81.7 | 2.2 |
Finished | 77.8 | 80.5 | 70.0 | 79.0 | 78.6 | 78.2 | 78.0 | 78.3 | 1.9 |
Market Groups
The output of consumer goods edged up 0.1 percent in December, as nondurables advanced slightly but durables decreased. Among durable consumer goods, the production index for automotive products moved up 0.2 percent after having risen 1.4 percent in November. Elsewhere the production index for home electronics edged down 0.2 percent, and the production index for appliances, furniture, and carpeting moved down 1.6 percent with widespread decreases among its components. After having decreased for two consecutive months, the production of nondurable non-energy consumer goods advanced 0.5 percent in December with gains in foods and tobacco, paper, and clothing, and a small loss in chemical products. After having increased a revised 1.8 percent in November, the index for consumer energy goods fell 1.0 percent in December.
The index for business equipment moved up 0.8 percent in December and advanced at an annual rate of 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter. In December, the output of transit equipment rose 2.3 percent; the gain was concentrated in commercial aircraft. After having risen 2.1 percent in November, the index for information processing equipment increased 0.5 percent in December; despite moderate gains in most components, December's rise in this index was held down by a drop in the output of communications equipment. The index for industrial and other equipment moved up 0.4 percent; output for this sector fell at an annual rate of 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter.
The output of defense and space equipment advanced 0.1 percent in December and was unchanged from its year-earlier level.
In December, the index for construction supplies fell 0.9 percent, its sixth consecutive monthly decline; the index was 2.2 percent below its year-earlier level and declined at an annual rate of 5.4 percent for the fourth quarter as a whole. The index for business supplies was unchanged in December.
The production of materials decreased 0.3 percent in December, which partially reversed its November increase. Among non-energy materials, the index for durable materials decreased 0.4�percent in December. A gain in equipment parts was outweighed by decreases in consumer parts and other durable materials; losses were widespread within these categories. The output of nondurable materials moved down 0.4 percent, with declines in all of its major subcategories.
Industry Groups
Manufacturing output was unchanged in December after having increased 0.3 percent in November; manufacturing fell at an annual rate of 1.9 percent for the fourth quarter as a whole. The factory operating rate decreased 0.1 percentage point, to 79.7 percent, a level 0.1 percentage point below its 1972-2006 average. The production of durable goods was unchanged in December and declined at an annual rate of 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter. The output of wood products increased 1.1 percent in December after having declined for five consecutive months. Machinery, computer and electronic products, and aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment all posted gains, whereas nonmetallic mineral products and primary metal production posted declines of 2.1 percent and 1.0 percent respectively. The production of nondurable goods edged down 0.1 percent after a gain of similar size in November. Gains in the indexes for food, beverage, and tobacco products and for apparel and leather in December were more than offset by reductions in most other categories. The output of non-NAICS industries (newspaper publishing and logging) edged up 0.1�percent.
The output of mines increased 0.1�percent, and the capacity utilization rate for mining was unchanged at 92.1 percent, a rate 4.7 percentage points above its long-run average. The index for utilities decreased 0.2 percent in December. The output of natural gas utilities fell 3.1 percent, and the output of electric utilities edged up 0.3 percent. The operating rate at utilities decreased 0.3 percentage point, to 86.2 percent, a level 0.5 percentage point below its 1972-2006 average.
Capacity utilization at industries grouped by stage of processing changed as follows: For the crude stage,
utilization decreased 0.3 percentage point, to 90.3 percent, a rate 3.8 percentage points above its
1972-2006 average. For the primary and semifinished stages, utilization decreased 0.4 percentage point, to
81.7 percent, a rate 0.5 percentage point below its long-run average. For the finished stage, utilization
moved up 0.3 percentage point, to 78.3�percent, a rate 0.5 percentage point above its long-run average.
Notice
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 |