Industrial production increased 0.1% in December, according to the Federal Reserve. November’s reading was revised downward to 0.0% and October’s reading was revised upward to -0.8%, and readings for previous months remained unchanged. Total industrial production in December was 1.0% above its year-ago level. Capacity utilization remained unchanged at 78.6%, a rate that is 1.1 percentage points (pp) below its long-run (1972-2022) average.
Manufacturing output ticked up 0.1% in December following a downward revision to 0.2% in November and is 1.2% above December 2022 levels. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, factory output declined 0.1% in December. The were increases in the indexes for petroleum and coal products (2.2%), motor vehicles and parts (1.6%), and furniture and related products (1.3%), while there were decreases in the index for electrical equipment, appliances, and components (-2.4%), wood products (-1.9%), and paper (-1.3%).
Production of durable goods increased 0.9% while nondurable goods remained unchanged in December. Capacity utilization for manufacturing remained unchanged at 77.1%, which is 1.1 pp below its long-run (1972-2022) average.
Mining output increased 0.9% in December, following a 1.0% drop in November. The index in December was 4.3% above its year-earlier level.
Utilities decreased 1.0%, following a 0.7% drop in November. The index in December was 4.9% below its year-ago level.
Read the Fed release.