Industrial production remained unchanged in May after a revised 1.1% April increase, according to the Federal Reserve. April’s jump was the largest since February 2014. A drop in manufacturing output was offset by increases in mining and utilities output to keep the index flat in May.
Manufacturing output fell 0.4% in May after a revised 1.1% increase in April. Production of durable goods fell 0.8%, while nondurables both edged up 0.1% during the month. Capacity utilization for manufacturing decreased by 0.3 percentage point to 75.5%, a rate that is 2.0 percentage points below its long-run average.
The output of mining continued to rise, increasing 1.6% in May, following a 1.5% April jump. The index in May was 8.3% higher than its year-earlier level.
Utilities output rose 0.4% in May, as higher output for gas utilities outweighed a small decrease for electric utilities.
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