Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization - G.17

Current Release (250 KB PDF) (ASCII)

Industrial production edged down 0.1 percent in May after having gained 1.0 percent in April. A decrease of 0.4 percent for manufacturing production in May partially reversed a large increase in April. Outside of manufacturing, the output of mines advanced 0.9 percent in May, while the output of utilities rose 0.8 percent. At 97.3 percent of its 2007 average, total industrial production in May was 4.7 percent above its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization for total industry declined 0.2 percentage point to 79.0 percent, a rate 1.3 percentage points below its long-run (1972--2011) average.

Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization: Summary

Market Groups

The production of consumer goods declined 0.2 percent in May after having climbed 1.4 percent in April. Within consumer goods, the output of durables fell 1.3 percent in May, with none of the major categories registering an increase: The production of automotive products moved down 1.9 percent; the output of home electronics was unchanged; the output of appliances, furniture, and carpeting decreased 0.5 percent; and the index for miscellaneous consumer durables declined 0.4 percent. The output of consumer nondurables edged up 0.1 percent, as a gain in the energy category was mostly offset by a decline in non-energy nondurables. The increase for the consumer energy index reflected stronger electricity sales to households and higher output of fuels. The production of non-energy nondurables declined 0.2 percent: A large decrease for paper products and a small decrease for foods and tobacco were mostly offset by a large increase for clothing and a small increase for chemical products. Over the past 12 months, the index for consumer goods has risen 2.3 percent, with the production of durable consumer goods up 11.7 percent and the output of nondurable consumer goods down 0.4 percent.

The output of business equipment rose 0.3 percent in May. Among its major components, the index for transit equipment moved up 0.5 percent, the index for information processing equipment edged down 0.2 percent, and the index for industrial and other equipment increased 0.4 percent. Over the past 12 months, the overall index for business equipment has advanced 11.3 percent, with sizable gains in all three of its major categories.

The output of defense and space equipment dropped 2.2 percent in May, in large part because of a strike at a major military aircraft facility. The index was 1.5 percent above its year-earlier level.

Among nonindustrial supplies, the output of construction supplies decreased 1.2 percent in May. After having increased 5.6 percent between October and February, the index has fallen back 1.5 percent over the past three months. The production of business supplies edged down 0.1 percent last month.

The output of materials to be processed further in the industrial sector rose 0.1 percent in May after having increased 0.6 percent in April. The output of durable materials decreased 0.5 percent in May; output moved lower for all three of its major components. The production of nondurable materials fell 0.6 percent because of losses in chemical materials and paper materials. The index for energy materials strengthened 1.1 percent mostly as a result of increases for crude oil extraction, coal mining, and electricity generation.

Industry Groups

In May, manufacturing output decreased 0.4 percent after having advanced 0.7 percent in April. The index for manufacturing in May was 5.2 percent above its year-earlier level. The factory operating rate moved down 0.4 percentage point to 77.6 percent, a level 1.2 percentage points below its long-run average.

The production index for durable goods declined 0.5 percent in May after having posted a gain of 1.4 percent in April. Durable goods industries with decreases of more than 1 percent in May included nonmetallic mineral products, primary metals, motor vehicles and parts, and furniture and related products. The largest increase among major durable goods industries was for wood products, which moved up 1.0 percent, and smaller gains were recorded by fabricated metals; electrical equipment, appliances, and components; and miscellaneous manufacturing. Capacity utilization for durable goods manufacturing was 78.0 percent, a rate 5.0 percentage points above its year-earlier level and 0.9 percentage point above its long-run average.

The production of nondurables decreased 0.2 percent in May, its third consecutive month without a gain. The index has risen 1.4 percent in the last 12 months; capacity utilization edged down 0.1 percentage point in May to 78.4 percent, a rate 2.5 percentage points below its long-run average. Despite production increases in May of about 1 percent for apparel and leather and for petroleum and coal products, and a smaller gain for printing, decreases in all of the other major nondurable goods industries led to a decline in the overall index.

Production in the non-NAICS manufacturing industries (logging and publishing) dropped 1.3 percent in May after having risen 0.6 percent in April.

In May, mining output advanced 0.9 percent, primarily supported by gains in crude oil extraction and coal mining. Capacity utilization for mining moved up 0.7 percentage point to 89.2 percent, a rate 1.9 percentage points above its long-run average. The output of utilities increased 0.8 percent after having jumped 5.3 percent in April. The operating rate for utilities rose 0.5 percentage point in May to 76.5 percent, a rate 9.8 percentage points below its long-run average.

Capacity utilization rates in May for industries grouped by stage of process were as follows: At the crude stage, utilization gained 0.3 percentage point to 87.0 percent, a rate 0.7 percentage point above its long-run average; at the primary and semifinished stages, utilization edged down 0.1 percentage point to 76.4 percent, a rate 4.7 percentage points below its long-run average; and at the finished stage, utilization declined 0.4 percentage point to 78.6 percent, a rate 1.4 percentage points higher than its long-run average.

Revision of Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization

The Federal Reserve Board issued its annual revision to the index of industrial production (IP) and the related measures of capacity utilization at noon EDT on March 30, 2012. The revised IP indexes incorporated detailed data from the 2010 Annual Survey of Manufactures, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Annual data from the U.S. Geological Survey regarding metallic and nonmetallic minerals (except fuels) for 2010 were also incorporated. The update included revisions to the monthly indicator and to seasonal factors for each industry. In addition, the estimation methods for some series have changed. Modifications to the methods for estimating the output of an industry did affect the index from 1972 to the present.

Capacity and capacity utilization were revised to incorporate data through the fourth quarter of 2011 from the Census Bureau's Quarterly Survey of Plant Capacity, which covers manufacturing, along with new data on capacity from the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Energy, and other organizations.

The revision is available on the Board's website at www.federalreserve.gov/releases/G17. Further information on the revision can be obtained from the Board's Industrial Output Section (telephone number 202-452-3197).

Return to top