Industrial production (IP) decreased 0.3 percent in September after advancing 0.3 percent in August. A strike at a major producer of civilian aircraft held down total IP growth by an estimated 0.3 percent in September, and the effects of two hurricanes subtracted an estimated 0.3 percent. For the third quarter as a whole, industrial production declined at an annual rate of 0.6 percent. Manufacturing output moved down 0.4 percent in September, and the index for mining fell 0.6 percent. The index for utilities gained 0.7 percent. At 102.6 percent of its 2017 average, total industrial production in September was 0.6 percent below its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization edged down to 77.5 percent in September, a rate that is 2.2 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2023) average.
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Click on graph for larger image.
This graph shows Capacity Utilization. This series is up from the record low set in April 2020, and above the level in February 2020 (pre-pandemic).
Capacity utilization at 77.5% is 2.2% below the average from 1972 to 2022. This was below consensus expectations.
Note: y-axis doesn’t start at zero to better show the change.
The second graph shows industrial production since 1967.
Industrial production decreased to 102.6. This is above the pre-pandemic level.
Industrial production was below consensus expectations.