Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization - G.17

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Release Date: November 16, 2021

Industrial production rose 1.6 percent in October after falling 1.3 percent in September; about half of the gain in October reflected a recovery from the effects of Hurricane Ida. Manufacturing output increased 1.2 percent in October; excluding a large gain in the production of motor vehicles and parts, factory output moved up 0.6 percent. The output of utilities rose 1.2 percent, and mining output stepped up 4.1 percent.

At 101.6 percent of its 2017 average, total industrial production in October was 5.1 percent above its year-earlier level and at its highest reading since December 2019. In October, capacity utilization for the industrial sector increased 1.2 percentage points to 76.4 percent; even so, it was still 3.2 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2020) average.

Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization: Summary
Seasonally adjusted
Industrial production 2017=100 Percent change
2021 2021 Oct. '20 to
Oct. '21
May[r] June[r] July[r] Aug.[r] Sept.[r] Oct.[p] May[r] June[r] July[r] Aug.[r] Sept.[r] Oct.[p]
       
Total index 99.9 100.4 101.3 101.3 100.0 101.6 .7 .5 .8 .0 -1.3 1.6 5.1
Previous estimates 99.9 100.4 101.4 101.3 100.0   .7 .5 1.0 -.1 -1.3    
       
Major market groups
Final Products 99.8 99.8 101.6 101.4 100.3 101.6 .7 .0 1.8 -.1 -1.1 1.3 5.0
Consumer goods 100.1 99.7 100.8 100.8 99.3 100.7 .6 -.3 1.0 .0 -1.5 1.4 2.6
Business equipment 93.8 93.3 96.3 95.7 95.4 95.5 1.6 -.5 3.3 -.7 -.3 .2 5.9
Nonindustrial supplies 96.6 96.3 97.2 97.7 97.8 98.4 .0 -.4 .9 .5 .2 .6 3.7
Construction 99.2 98.1 99.4 99.7 101.3 101.4 -.9 -1.2 1.4 .3 1.6 .1 3.3
Materials 101.1 102.3 102.3 102.2 100.3 102.6 .9 1.2 -.1 .0 -1.9 2.3 5.8
       
Major industry groups
Manufacturing (see note below) 98.4 98.1 99.6 99.3 98.6 99.8 .8 -.3 1.5 -.3 -.7 1.2 4.5
Previous estimates 98.4 98.1 99.8 99.4 98.7   .8 -.3 1.7 -.4 -.7    
Mining 106.7 106.8 107.2 106.6 104.1 108.4 1.7 .2 .4 -.6 -2.3 4.1 11.8
Utilities 100.3 106.4 103.1 106.1 102.2 103.4 -1.4 6.1 -3.1 2.9 -3.7 1.2 3.0

Capacity utilization Percent of capacity Capacity
growth
Average
1972-
2020 		1988-
89
high 		1990-
91
low 		1994-
95
high 		 
2009
low 		 
2020
Oct. 		   
2021 Oct. '20 to
Oct. '21
May[r] June[r] July[r] Aug.[r] Sept.[r] Oct.[p]
       
Total industry 79.6 85.2 78.8 85.1 66.6 72.9 75.3 75.6 76.2 76.2 75.2 76.4 .3
Previous estimates             75.3 75.6 76.3 76.2 75.2    
       
Manufacturing (see note below) 78.2 85.6 77.3 84.7 63.5 73.5 75.7 75.5 76.6 76.4 75.8 76.7 .0
Previous estimates             75.7 75.5 76.8 76.5 75.9    
Mining 86.2 86.0 83.8 88.3 78.3 67.9 75.5 75.7 76.0 75.6 73.8 76.9 -1.3
Utilities 85.0 93.1 84.6 93.2 78.0 73.4 72.3 76.5 74.0 76.0 73.0 73.8 2.6
       
Stage-of-process groups
Crude 85.4 87.7 84.6 89.7 76.5 71.0 77.4 77.6 77.7 77.1 74.6 77.8 -.7
Primary and semifinished 80.2 86.5 78.1 87.9 63.5 73.2 74.3 75.1 75.0 75.4 74.6 75.5 .6
Finished 76.8 83.4 77.5 80.7 66.5 73.2 75.6 75.5 77.1 76.9 76.4 77.0 .0
[r] Revised. [p] Preliminary.
Market Groups

All major market groups posted gains in October; the largest increases were for materials, consumer goods, and defense and space equipment. The index for consumer goods advanced 1.4 percent, an increase driven mostly by a rise in automotive products. The index for materials moved up 2.3 percent, with gains in its durable, nondurable, and energy components. The increase in durable materials included a sizable contribution from motor vehicle parts, while the gains in nondurable and energy materials largely reflected a return to operation for many chemical and energy facilities that had been offline due to Hurricane Ida.

Industry Groups

In October, manufacturing output rose 1.2 percent, reaching its highest level since March 2019. The indexes for both durable and nondurable goods advanced 1.3 percent, while the index for other manufacturing (logging and publishing) fell 1.5 percent. Within durables, the largest increase was posted by motor vehicles and parts, while a strike at a major manufacturer contributed to a decrease of 1.3 percent for machinery. Within nondurables, the index for petroleum and coal products moved up 5.0 percent; gains of more than 1 percent were also recorded by printing and support and by chemicals.

Capacity utilization for manufacturing increased 0.9 percentage point in October to 76.7 percent, its highest rate since January 2019. The operating rate for mining jumped 3.1 percentage points to 76.9 percent, while the operating rate for utilities rose 0.8 percentage point to 73.8 percent. The rates for all three sectors remained below their long-run averages.

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.

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Last Update: November 16, 2021