EmailEconomic
Last Update: 14-Sep-18 09:45 ET
Industrial Production
Highlights
- Industrial production increased 0.4% in August, as expected, following an upwardly revised 0.4% increase (from 0.1%) in July. August marked the third straight month that industrial production has increased.
- The capacity utilization rate increased to 78.1% (Briefing.com consensus 78.3%) from a downwardly revised 77.9% (from 78.1%) in July.
Key Factors
- Manufacturing output increased 0.2%, led by a 4.0% rise for motor vehicles and parts that was driven by the highest annual rate in motor vehicle assemblies (11.5 mln) since April.
- Mining output increased 0.7%
- The index for utilities output jumped 1.2%
- On a year-over-year basis, industrial production is up 4.9%.
- At 77.9%, the capacity utilization rate is 1.7 percentage points below its long-run average.
Big Picture
- The key takeaway from the report is the understanding that factory output was unchanged, excluding the gain in motor vehicles and parts.
| Category | AUG | JUL | JUN | MAY | APR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial Production | |||||
| Total Index | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.6% | -0.8% | 1.1% |
| Manufacturing | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.7% | -0.9% | 0.5% |
| Utilities | 1.2% | 0.1% | -1.5% | -2.6% | 5.8% |
| Mining | 0.7% | 0.7% | 1.8% | 0.8% | 0.8% |
| Capacity Utilization | |||||
| Total Industry | 78.1% | 77.9% | 77.8% | 77.4% | 78.2% |
| Manufacturing | 75.8% | 75.7% | 75.5% | 75.1% | 75.9% |
