Industrial production edged down 0.3% in September after edging up 0.3% in August according to the Federal Reserve. The index for mining fell 0.6%, while the index for utilities grew 0.7%. Total industrial production in September fell 0.6% at its year-earlier level to 102.6% of its 2017 average. Capacity utilization edged down to 77.5% in September, a rate that is 2.2 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2023) average. The Federal Reserve Bank also outlined that the strike at a major civilian aircraft producer and the effects of two hurricanes held down industrial production.
The major market groups posted mixed results in September. Among consumer goods, the production of durables decreased 0.7%. In contrast, the index for nondurables increased 0.5%, boosted by a 1.7% increase in energy goods. The output of business equipment declined 3.5 % in September, weighed down by a sharp drop of 14.2% in the production of transit equipment largely due to the work stoppage in civilian aircraft. Business supplies posted a gain in September, while the index of construction supplies edged down.
Manufacturing output declined 0.4% in September and was 0.5% below its year-earlier level. The production of durable goods industries fell 1%, with declines widespread among its components. In addition to a drop of 8.3% in the output of aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment, declines of 1% or more were recorded for furniture and related products, for motor vehicles and parts, and for electrical equipment, appliances, and components. The production of nondurable goods increased 0.2%, as gains in the indexes of chemicals and of petroleum and coal products outweighed declines in the indexes of textile and product mills and of apparel and leather
Mining output decreased 0.6% in September, as the effects of two hurricanes on oil and gas extraction more than offset gains elsewhere. The output of utilities increased 0.7% in September, as both electric and natural gas utilities moved up.
Capacity utilization for manufacturing decreased 0.4 percentage point in September to 76.7%, a rate that is 1.6 percentage points below its long-run average. The operating rate for mining fell 0.4 percentage point to 88.7%, while the operating rate for utilities rose 0.3 percentage point to 71.2%. The rate for mining was 2.2 percentage points above its long-run average, while the rate for utilities remained substantially below its long-run average.
Read the Fed release.
