1/11/13 Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization

www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g17/current/ 1/3

What's New · What's Next · Site Map · A-Z Index · Careers · RSS ·

All Videos · Current FAQs · Contact Us Advanced Search

About

the Fed

News

& Events

Monetary

Policy

Banking

Information

& Regulation

Payment

Systems

Economic

Research

& Data

Consumer

Information

Community

Development

Reporting

Forms Publications

Current Release Release Dates Monthly Supplement Annual Revision Data Download About Announcements Technical Q&As

DDP Print

Current Release (250 KB PDF) (ASCII)

Release Date: December 14, 2012

Annual Revision Notice Below

Industrial production increased 1.1 percent in November after having fallen 0.7 percent in October. The gain in November is estimated to have

largely resulted from a recovery in production for industries that had been negatively affected by Hurricane Sandy, which hit the Northeast

region in late October. In November, manufacturing output increased 1.1 percent after having decreased 1.0 percent in October; in addition to

the storm-related rebound, a sizable rise in the production of motor vehicles and parts boosted factory output in November. The output of

utilities advanced 1.0 percent, and production at mines rose 0.8 percent. At 97.5 percent of its 2007 average, total industrial production in

November was 2.5 percent above its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization for total industry increased 0.7 percentage point to 78.4 percent, a

rate 1.9 percentage points below its long-run (1972--2011) average.

Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization: Summary

Seasonally adjusted

Industrial production

2007=100 Percent change

2012 2012 Nov. '11 to Nov. '12

June[r] July[r] Aug.[r] Sept.[r] Oct.[r] Nov.[p] June[r] July[r] Aug.[r] Sept.[r] Oct.[r] Nov.[p]

Total index 97.3 97.9 97.0 97.1 96.5 97.5 .0 .7 -1.0 .2 -.7 1.1 2.5

Previous estimates 97.3 97.9 96.8 97.0 96.6 .0 .7 -1.1 .2 -.4

Major market groups

Final Products 97.0 97.4 96.5 96.7 95.5 96.6 .4 .4 -.9 .2 -1.3 1.1 2.5

Consumer goods 93.4 93.8 92.9 93.3 92.1 93.3 -.2 .4 -1.0 .4 -1.2 1.2 1.2

Business equipment 104.8 104.9 104.0 103.7 102.4 103.7 1.9 .1 -.9 -.3 -1.3 1.2 7.4

Nonindustrial supplies 87.2 87.2 86.7 86.7 86.1 86.9 -.3 .0 -.6 .0 -.7 .9 2.1

Construction 79.7 79.1 78.9 79.3 79.0 80.1 -.9 -.8 -.2 .5 -.3 1.4 2.9

Materials 101.1 102.2 101.0 101.2 101.1 102.1 -.2 1.1 -1.2 .2 -.1 1.0 2.7

Major industry groups

Manufacturing (see note below) 94.3 94.6 93.8 93.8 92.9 94.0 .4 .3 -.8 .1 -1.0 1.1 2.7

Previous estimates 94.3 94.6 93.7 93.8 93.0 .3 .3 -.9 .1 -.9

Mining 111.6 113.0 112.0 113.8 114.1 115.1 .1 1.3 -.9 1.6 .3 .8 3.0

Utilities 99.9 102.8 100.6 99.8 99.8 100.9 -2.7 3.0 -2.2 -.8 .0 1.0 .7

Capacity utilization

Percent of capacity Capacity

growth

Average

1972-

2011

1988-

89

high

1990-

91

low

1994-

95

high

2009

low

2011 Nov.2012 Nov. '11 to Nov. '12

June[r] July[r] Aug.[r] Sept.[r] Oct.[r] Nov.[p]

Total industry 80.3 85.2 78.8 85.0 66.8 77.7 78.8 79.2 78.3 78.3 77.7 78.4 1.5

Previous estimates 78.8 79.2 78.2 78.2 77.8

Manufacturing (see note below) 78.8 85.6 77.3 84.6 63.8 75.7 77.4 77.5 76.8 76.7 75.9 76.6 1.5

Previous estimates 77.4 77.5 76.7 76.7 75.9

Mining 87.3 86.3 83.9 88.6 78.5 90.4 89.2 90.2 89.2 90.5 90.6 91.1 2.2

Utilities 86.3 92.9 84.3 93.3 79.1 76.6 75.4 77.5 75.6 74.8 74.7 75.3 2.4

Home > Economic Research & Data > Statistical Releases and Historical Data

Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization - G.17
1/11/13 Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization

www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g17/current/ 2/3

Stage-of-process groups

Crude 86.3 87.7 84.4 89.7 76.4 87.7 87.0 87.9 87.3 88.2 88.0 88.5 1.6

Primary and semifinished 81.1 86.5 78.0 87.9 64.2 74.7 75.9 76.5 75.6 75.3 74.9 75.8 .1

Finished 77.2 83.4 77.3 80.6 66.8 76.8 78.3 78.3 77.4 77.4 76.3 76.8 3.5

r Revised. p Preliminary.

Market Groups

The production of consumer goods rose 1.2 percent in November, reversing a decline of the same magnitude in October. The output of durable

consumer goods increased 2.8 percent in November. Among durable consumer goods categories, the index for automotive products rose 3.4

percent, its first increase in five months; the indexes for home electronics; for appliances, furniture, and carpeting; and for miscellaneous

goods all posted smaller increases. The production of nondurable consumer goods advanced 0.7 percent. The index for consumer energy

products rose 0.9 percent after having fallen 0.7 percent in October, and the index for non-energy nondurables increased 0.7 percent in

November following a decline of 1.9 percent in October. Among non-energy nondurables, the output of foods and tobacco, of clothing, and of

paper products all registered sizable gains in November, while the output of chemical products edged down.

The output of business equipment moved up 1.2 percent in November and was 7.4 percent above its year-earlier level. The production of

transit equipment increased 2.5 percent, and the production of industrial and other equipment rose 1.3 percent; output in both categories

stepped down noticeably in October. The index for information processing equipment fell 0.4 percent in November, but it remained 4.0 percent

above its year-earlier level.

The output of defense and space equipment was unchanged in November after decreasing 1.9 percent in October; however, the index stood

0.8 percent above its year-earlier level.

Among nonindustrial supplies, the output of construction supplies increased 1.4 percent in November, its largest monthly gain since

February. The production of business supplies rose 0.7 percent in November following three consecutive months of declines.

The output of materials to be processed further in the industrial sector advanced 1.0 percent in November after having edged down 0.1 percent

in October. The indexes for energy materials and for durable materials posted sizable gains in November, while the index for nondurable materials rose moderately. The output of durable materials increased 1.6 percent after three months of decreases. The index for consumer

parts rose substantially, boosted in particular by motor vehicle-related production, and stood 17.8 percent above its year-earlier level; the

output of equipment parts increased 0.3 percent in November after having moved down 0.5 percent in October. In November, the index for

nondurable materials gained 0.4 percent; the indexes for textiles and for paper moved up, while the production of chemicals was unchanged.

The output of energy materials rose 0.9 percent.

Industry Groups

Manufacturing output rose 1.1 percent in November following a decrease of 1.0 percent in October. Nearly all the decline in factory output in

October is estimated to have been related to Hurricane Sandy, and the increase in November reflects a post-hurricane rebound in production

as well as the solid advance in the output of motor vehicles and parts. Within manufacturing, increases were widespread in November across

both durable and nondurable goods industries. The factory operating rate rose to 76.6 percent, a rate 2.2 percentage points below its long-run

average.

The production of durable goods rose 1.6 percent in November. Output increased in all major categories of durables other than computer and

electronic products, and aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment, which both decreased. Gains of more than 2 percent were

recorded in the indexes for wood products; for primary metals; for electrical equipment, appliances, and components; for motor vehicles and

parts; and for miscellaneous manufacturing. Capacity utilization for durable goods manufacturing was 76.7 percent, a rate 0.4 percentage

point below its long-run average.

The output of nondurables rose 0.5 percent in November, and it was 0.6 percent above its year-earlier level. For November, most major

categories of nondurables moved up, although the indexes for petroleum and coal products and for chemicals edged down. Capacity

utilization for nondurable manufacturing was 77.9 percent, a rate 3.0 percentage points below its long-run average.

Production in the non-NAICS manufacturing industries (logging and publishing) rose 1.3 percent in November after having fallen 4.0 percent in

October when the hurricane held down the output of publishers.

In November, mining output advanced 0.8 percent. Capacity utilization at mines moved up 0.5 percentage point to 91.1 percent, a rate 3.8

percentage points above its long-run average. The output of utilities rose 1.0 percent in November, and gains were posted for both the electric

and the natural gas categories. The operating rate for utilities increased 0.6 percentage point to 75.3 percent, a rate 11.0 percentage points

below its long-run average.

Capacity utilization rates in November for industries grouped by stage of process were as follows: At the crude stage, utilization increased 0.5

percentage point to 88.5 percent, a rate 2.2 percentage points above its long-run average; at the primary and semifinished stages, utilization

rose 0.9 percentage point to 75.8 percent, a rate 5.3 percentage points below its long-run average; and at the finished stage, utilization moved

up 0.5 percentage point to 76.8 percent, a rate 0.4 percentage point lower than its long-run average.

Revision of Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization

The Federal Reserve Board plans to issue its annual revision to the index of industrial production (IP) and the related measures of capacity

utilization at the end of March 2013. The revised IP indexes will incorporate detailed data from the 2011 Annual Survey of Manufactures,

conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Annual data from the U.S. Geological Survey regarding metallic and nonmetallic minerals (except

fuels) for 2011 will also be incorporated. The update will include revisions to the monthly indicator (either product data or input data) and to

seasonal factors for each industry. In addition, the estimation methods for some series may be changed. Any modifications to the methods

for estimating the output of an industry will affect the index from 1972 to the present.

Capacity and capacity utilization will be revised to incorporate data through the fourth quarter of 2012 from the Census Bureau's Quarterly

Survey of Plant Capacity, which covers manufacturing, along with new data on capacity from the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S.

Department of Energy, and other organizations.

Once the revision is published, it will be available on the Board's website at www.federalreserve.gov/releases/G17. The 2013 release schedule,

however, is available now on the website.

Note. The statistics in this release cover output, capacity, and capacity utilization in the U.S. industrial sector, which is defined by the

Federal Reserve to comprise manufacturing, mining, and electric and gas utilities. Mining is defined as all industries in sector 21 of the North

American Industry Classification System (NAICS); electric and gas utilities are those in NAICS sectors 2211 and 2212. Manufacturing

comprises NAICS manufacturing industries (sector 31-33) plus the logging industry and the newspaper, periodical, book, and directory

publishing industries. Logging and publishing are classified elsewhere in NAICS (under agriculture and information respectively), but

historically they were considered to be manufacturing and were included in the industrial sector under the Standard Industrial Classification
1/11/13 Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization

www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g17/current/ 3/3

Accessibility Contact Us Disclaimer Website Policies FOIA PDF Reader

(SIC) system. In December 2002 the Federal Reserve reclassified all its industrial output data from the SIC system to NAICS.

G.17 Release Tables:

Summary: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization

Chart 1: Industrial Production, Capacity, and Capacity Utilization

Chart 2: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization

Chart 3: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization, High Technology Industries

Table 1: Industrial Production: Market and Industry Groups (percent change)

Table 2: Industrial Production: Special Aggregates and Selected Detail (percent change)

Table 3: Motor Vehicle Assemblies

Table 4: Industrial Production Indexes: Market and Industry Group Summary

Table 5: Industrial Production Indexes: Special Aggregates

Table 6: Diffusion Indexes of Industrial Production

Table 7: Capacity Utilization: Manufacturing, Mining, and Utilities

Table 8: Industrial Capacity: Manufacturing, Mining, and Utilities (percent change)

Table 9: Industrial Production: Gross Value of Products and Nonindustrial Supplies

Table 10: Gross-Value-Weighted Industrial Production: Stage-of-Process Groups

Table 11: Historical Statistics for IP, Capacity, and Utilization: Total Industry

Table 12: Historical Statistics for IP, Capacity, and Utilization: Manufacturing

Table 13: Historical Statistics for IP, Capacity, and Utilization: Total Industry excluding Selected High-Technology Industries

Table 14: Historical Statistics for IP, Capacity, and Utilization: Manufacturing excluding Selected High-Technology Industries

Return to top

Last update: December 14, 2012

Home | Economic research and data