(publishing and logging) fell 0.6 percent.
In mining, a drop of 0.3 percent in
output was due mostly to a decline in oil and gas extraction. Capacity
utilization at mines declined to 91.7 percent. The output at utilities
dropped 0.8 percent, and capacity utilization for the industry fell to
88.5 percent.
Capacity utilization for industries
in the crude stage of processing decreased 0.2 percentage point, to 89.1
percent. The operating rate for industries in the primary and semifinished
stages moved down 0.4 percentage point, to 83.6 percent. For industries in
the finished goods stage, capacity utilization edged down 0.1 percentage point,
to 79.8 percent.
More details href=”/databank/ipcu0806.pdf” target=_blank>here.
Industrial production declined 0.1
percent in August after an increase of 0.4 percent in July. Manufacturing output
was unchanged in August; it advanced an upward-revised 0.4 percent in July. The
output at utilities fell in August, as temperatures returned to more-normal
levels. Production at mines moved down after increasing in the previous four
months. Capacity utilization for total industry fell to 82.4 percent in August.
Even so, the utilization rate was more than 2 percentage points above its level
in August 2005 and 1.4 percentage points above its 1972-2005 average.
The output of
consumer goods edged up 0.1 percent in August. An increase of 1.2 percent
in the production of durable consumer goods mainly reflected an increase in the
output of automotive products. After falling at an annual rate of 1 million
units in July, assemblies of autos and light trucks rose 0.4 million units,
to 10.6 million units, in August. The output of appliances, furniture, and
carpeting moved up 1.2 percent after having declined for four consecutive
months. The index for home electronics moved up, and the index for miscellaneous
durable goods decreased. The production of consumer nondurable goods fell
0.3 percent; within this category, all of the major indexes declined,
except clothing, which edged up 0.1 percent.
In August, the production of
business equipment moved down 0.2 percent but was up 13.5 percent from its
year-earlier level. The index for industrial and other equipment edged down 0.2
percent. Led by gains in the output of civilian aircraft and motor vehicles, the
production of transit equipment increased 0.3 percent and was up 18.5 percent
from its year-earlier level. A decline of 0.4 percent in the production of
information processing equipment reflected a decrease in the output of
communications equipment that was partly offset by an increase in the production
of business computers. A rise of 0.3 percent in the production of defense
and space equipment followed appreciable gains in June and July.
The production of construction
supplies edged down 0.1 percent in August after a gain of 0.7 percent in
July. The index for business supplies fell 0.7 percent in August, its first
decline in six months. A decrease of 0.2 percent in the index for materials
reflected lower output of both non-energy and energy materials. The indexes for
consumer parts and for equipment parts moved up, but the index for other durable
materials was flat. Among the major categories of nondurable non-energy
materials, the indexes for paper and for chemicals fell, and the output of
textiles was unchanged.
Manufacturing
output was flat in August, as a rise in the production of durable goods was
offset by a decrease in the output of nondurables. Capacity utilization in
manufacturing edged down to 81.0 percent, a level that was still 2.2 percentage
points above that of August 2005. Within the durable manufacturing category, the
production of motor vehicles and parts increased but was down 2.7 percent from
its year-earlier level. An increase in the output of primary metals in August
partially reversed a decline in July. The index for fabricated metal products
moved up in August for a third consecutive month. The production of machinery
retreated 0.5 percent after a jump of 4.5 percent in July. The output of
computer and electronic products increased 0.5 percent in August. A decrease in
the output of nondurable goods reflected widespread declines among the major
categories; the only major category that increased was petroleum and coal
products, which rose 0.2 percent. The output of other (non-NAICS) manufacturing
industries
