Industrial production rose 0.8% in August after falling 0.9% in July according to the Federal Reserve. The index for mining climbed 0.8%, while the index for utilities was flat. Total industrial production in August remained flat at its year-earlier level at 103.1% of its 2017 average. Capacity utilization moved up to 78.0% in August, a rate that is 1.7 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2023) average.
Most major market groups posted gains in August, with the jump in the output of motor vehicles and parts contributing to the strength recorded across a variety of categories. The index for consumer goods rose 0.7%, as a 10.5% increase in the index for automotive products more than offset a small decline in the index for nondurable consumer goods. Similarly, the index for business equipment stepped up 1.4% in August, supported by a 6.6% gain in the index for transit equipment.
Manufacturing output moved down 0.3% in July and was 0.1% above its year-earlier level. Hurricane Beryl is estimated to have held down July manufacturing output 0.3% while the drop in motor vehicles and parts held down manufacturing output 0.6%. The index for durable manufacturing fell 0.9%, the index for nondurable manufacturing gained 0.4%, and the index for other manufacturing (publishing and logging) declined 1.6%. Within durables, the drop in the index for motor vehicles and parts of 7.8% more than offset gains elsewhere, including computer and electronic products (1.5%), machinery (1.4%), and primary metals (1.3%). Within nondurables, the largest gains were recorded in the indexes for petroleum and coal products (1.7%) and paper (1.3%).
Mining output was flat in July, as gains in crude oil extraction were offset by declines elsewhere. In particular, temporary facility closures due to Hurricane Beryl reduced the output of natural gas liquid extraction. The output of utilities dropped 3.7% in July, led by a 4.3% decline in electric utilities.
Capacity utilization for manufacturing moved down in July to 77.2%, a rate that is 1.1 percentage points below its long-run average. The operating rate for mining was unchanged at 88.8% in July, while the operating rate for utilities stepped down to 71.0%. The rate for mining was 2.3 percentage points above its long-run average, while the rate for utilities remained substantially below its long-run average.
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