Industrial production was unchanged in August, after edging up 0.2% in July. In August, manufacturing output decreased 0.3%, and the index for mining and utilities rose 0.1% and 1.8%, respectively. Manufacturing output excluding motor vehicles and parts edged down 0.2%. At 103.1% of its 2017 average, total industrial production in August was 1.4% above its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization was unchanged at 76.3%, a rate that is 3.1 percentage points (pp) below its long-run (1972–2025) average.
The major market groups posted mixed results in August. The production of consumer goods edged up 0.1%, reflecting an increase in the index for nondurable goods that offset a decline in the index for durable goods. The indexes for business equipment and defense and space equipment both decreased 0.5% and 1.8%, respectively. The output of construction supplies fell 0.7%, while the output of business supplies edged up 0.1%. The index for materials ticked up 0.2%, driven by a 0.7% increase in the output of energy materials.
Manufacturing output decreased 0.3% in August, after increasing for seven consecutive months. The index for durable manufacturing decreased 0.5%, while the index for nondurable manufacturing was unchanged. The production of durables decreased 0.5% in August, with a broad-based decline across various industry groups. Other manufacturing (publishing and logging) production increased 1% in August.
Mining output grew 0.1% in August. The output of utilities rose 1.8% in August, with an increase in the index for electric utilities more than offsetting a decrease in the index for natural gas utilities.
Capacity utilization for manufacturing edged down 0.3 pp to 75.7% in August, which is 2.5 pp below its long-run (1972–2025) average. The operating rate for mining edged up 0.1 pp to 86.3%, and the operating rate for utilities moved up 1.1 pp to 71.3%. The utilization rate for mining was 1.1 pp above its long-run average, while the rate for utilities remained substantially below its long-run average.
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