U.S Industrial Production climbed 0.2% during November, slightly improving from a 0.1% dip in October, according to the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The Fed’s latest Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization report, issued Dec. 23, showed that a considerable rebound in mining — which jumped 1.7% in November after a 0.8% October slide — largely powered the top-line figure. It more than offset a downturn in utilities output at 0.4% after it had surged 2.6% a month earlier.
The broad figure topped economists’ expectations of a 0.1% industrial production increase.
At 101.8% of its 2017 average, total industrial production in November was 2.5% above its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization was 76.0% in November, a rate that is 3.5% below its long-run (1972-2024) average.
U.S. Industrial Production: Month-Over-Month % Change
Market Groups
The output of consumer goods rose 0.3% in November after edging down 0.1% in October. In both October and November, the production of consumer durables decreased, with large negative contributions from the index for automotive products, while the production of consumer nondurables increased. The output of business equipment fell 0.3% in October and then rose 0.3% in November; within business equipment, the index for information processing equipment increased in both months, while the indexes for transit equipment and for industrial and other equipment posted mixed results across the months. The output of construction supplies fell 1.6% across October and November, on net, though it has risen 2.3% over the past 12 months. The output of business supplies was flat over the two-month period, while the index for materials was unchanged in October and increased 0.2% in November.
Industry Groups
Manufacturing output declined overall across October-November, with overall declines in output of both durable and nondurable goods. The index for durables fell 0.5% in October and 0.1% in November. Net October and November Output declined in most industry groups within durables, including a drop in motor vehicles and parts of 5.1% in October and 1% in November. Notable exceptions include the index for aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment, which rose 3.2% across the two months, and the index for computer and electronic products, which gained 2.3% on net. The index for nondurables decreased 0.2% in October but ticked up 0.1% in November with mixed results among industry groups within nondurables. Among the largest nondurable goods industry groups by weight, in October and November, on net, the index for food, beverages, and tobacco products rose 1.5%, while the index for chemicals declined 1.5%. In November, the index for manufacturing as a whole was 1.9% above its year-earlier level.
Mining output fell 0.8% in October and then rose 1.7% in November. The output of utilities increased 2.6% in October but then decreased 0.4% in November, with similar patterns in both electric and natural gas utilities.
Capacity utilization for manufacturing was 75.4% in November — unchanged from October — and 0.4 percentage points below its September level. The manufacturing operating rate in November was 2.8 percentage points below its long-run average. The operating rate for mining rose 0.9 percentage points, on net, in October and November, to 86.3%, and the operating rate for utilities moved up 1 percentage point, on net, to 70.9%. In November, the rate for mining was 1.1 percentage points above its long-run average, while the rate for utilities remained substantially below its long-run average.
