by Calculated Risk on 11/16/2011 09:30:00 AM

From the Fed: Industrial production and Capacity Utilization

Industrial production expanded 0.7 percent in October after having declined 0.1 percent in September. Previously, industrial production was reported to have gained 0.2 percent in September; most of this revision resulted from lower estimated output for mining. Factory output increased 0.5 percent in October after having risen 0.3 percent in September. Production at mines climbed 2.3 percent in October, while the output of utilities edged down 0.1 percent. At 94.7 percent of its 2007 average, total industrial production for October was 3.9 percent above its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization for total industry stepped up to 77.8 percent, a rate 2.1 percentage points above its level from a year earlier but 2.6 percentage points below its long-run (1972--2010) average.

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows Capacity Utilization. This series is up 10.5 percentage points from the record low set in June 2009 (the series starts in 1967).

Capacity utilization at 77.8% is still 2.6 percentage points below its average from 1972 to 2010 and below the pre-recession levels of 81.3% in December 2007.

Note: y-axis doesn't start at zero to better show the change.

The second graph shows industrial production since 1967.

Industrial production increased in October to 94.7, however September was revised down.

The consensus was for a 0.4% increase in Industrial Production in October, and an increase to 77.6% for Capacity Utilization. Adjusting for the downward revision for September, this was about at consensus.
All current manufacturing graphs