Accessible Version

Some Characteristics of the Decline in Manufacturing Capacity Utilization Accessible Data

Figure 1: Manufacturing Capacity Utilization Rate

Period Percent of Capacity
January 1948 84.43
February 1948 83.96
March 1948 83.38
April 1948 82.8
May 1948 83.3
June 1948 83.65
July 1948 83.38
August 1948 82.66
September 1948 81.49
October 1948 81.69
November 1948 80.24
December 1948 79.31
January 1949 77.94
February 1949 76.88
March 1949 75.89
April 1949 74.16
May 1949 73.18
June 1949 73.08
July 1949 73.13
August 1949 73.61
September 1949 74.8
October 1949 71.68
November 1949 72.02
December 1949 73.63
January 1950 74.94
February 1950 75.39
March 1950 76.39
April 1950 79.21
May 1950 81.04
June 1950 83.12
July 1950 85.48
August 1950 88.37
September 1950 87.23
October 1950 87.48
November 1950 87.03
December 1950 88.1
January 1951 88.33
February 1951 88.29
March 1951 88.38
April 1951 88.2
May 1951 87.35
June 1951 86.64
July 1951 84.87
Aug 1951 83.64
September 1951 83.75
October 1951 83.06
November 1951 83.56
December 1951 83.91
January 1952 84.38
February 1952 84.6
March 1952 84.66
April 1952 83.56
May 1952 83.11
June 1952 81.9
July 1952 79.8
August 1952 85.1
September 1952 87.69
October 1952 88.75
November 1952 90.18
December 1952 90.49
January 1953 90.55
February 1953 91.1
March 1953 91.43
April 1953 91.5
May 1953 91.69
June1953 90.66
July 1953 90.98
August 1953 90.56
September 1953 88.33
October 1953 87.19
November 1953 84.74
December 1953 82.31
January 1954 81.33
February 1954 80.84
March 1954 80.24
April 1954 79.4
May 1954 79.76
June 1954 79.87
July 1954 79.4
August 1954 78.81
September 1954 79.16
October 1954 79.75
November 1954 80.91
December 1954 81.8
January 1955 83.49
February 1955 84.13
March 1955 85.77
April 1955 86.7
May 1955 87.86
June 1955 87.65
July 1955 87.66
August 1955 87.33
September 1955 87.46
October 1955 88.37
November 1955 88.27
December 1955 89.03
January 1956 88.23
February 1956 87.44
March 1956 86.96
April 1956 87.8
May 1956 86.34
June 1956 85.33
July 1956 81.52
August 1956 84.95
September 1956 85.99
October 1956 86.49
November 1956 85.82
December 1956 86.78
January 1957 86.15
February 1957 87
March 1957 86.41
April 1957 85
May 1957 84.21
June 1957 84.58
July 1957 84.32
August 1957 84.16
September 1957 83.19
October 1957 81.39
November 1957 79.41
December 1957 77.55
January 1958 75.7
February 1958 73.76
March 1958 72.74
April 1958 71.33
May 1958 71.94
June 1958 73.95
July 1958 74.34
August 1958 75.73
September 1958 76.22
October 1958 76.41
November 1958 79.07
December 1958 79.04
January 1959 80.2
February 1959 81.44
March 1959 82.48
April 1959 83.99
May 1959 84.92
June 1959 84.77
July 1959 82.98
August 1959 79.47
September 1959 79.05
October 1959 78.15
November 1959 78.51
December 1959 83.57
January 1960 85.56
February 1960 84.61
March 1960 83.24
April 1960 82.26
May 1960 81.47
June 1960 80.22
July 1960 79.73
August 1960 79.05
September 1960 77.92
October 1960 77.53
November 1960 75.77
December 1960 74.26
January 1961 74.11
February 1961 73.51
March 1961 73.86
April 1961 75.38
May 1961 76.36
June 1961 77.32
July 1961 78.11
August 1961 78.98
September 1961 78.16
October 1961 79.55
November 1961 80.77
December 1961 81.6
January 1962 80.24
February 1962 81.43
March 1962 81.89
April 1962 81.74
May 1962 81.33
June 1962 80.93
July 1962 81.48
August 1962 81.42
September 1962 81.79
October 1962 81.39
November 1962 81.84
December 1962 81.68
January 1963 81.94
February 1963 82.38
March 1963 82.62
April 1963 83.46
May 1963 83.95
June 1963 83.94
July 1963 83.34
August 1963 83.5
September 1963 83.82
October 1963 84.31
November 1963 84.29
December 1963 84.01
January 1964 84.46
February 1964 84.67
March 1964 84.36
April 1964 85.59
May 1964 85.6
June 1964 85.45
July 1964 85.86
August 1964 86.11
September 1964 86.2
October 1964 84.63
November 1964 86.85
December 1964 88
January 1965 88.6
February 1965 88.72
March 1965 89.28
April 1965 89.29
May 1965 89.45
June 1965 89.46
July 1965 90.3
August 1965 89.85
September 1965 89.56
October 1965 89.79
November 1965 89.65
December 1965 90.51
January 1966 90.86
February 1966 90.91
March 1966 91.59
April 1966 91.54
May 1966 91.64
June 1966 91.52
July 1966 91.4
August 1966 91.08
September 1966 91.25
October 1966 91.62
November 1966 90.13
December 1966 90.02
January 1967 89.84
February 1967 88.39
March 1967 87.52
April 1967 87.66
May 1967 86.61
June 1967 86.07
July 1967 85.31
August 1967 86.49
September 1967 86.06
October 1967 86.37
November 1967 87.53
December 1967 88
January 1968 87.41
February 1968 87.4
March 1968 87.16
April 1968 86.86
May 1968 87.57
June 1968 87.38
July 1968 86.74
August 1968 86.79
September 1968 86.46
October 1968 86.63
November 1968 87.49
December 1968 87.13
January 1969 87.3
February 1969 87.66
March 1969 87.99
April 1969 87.29
May 1969 86.61
June 1969 86.8
July 1969 87.1
August 1969 86.89
September 1969 86.45
October 1969 86.21
November 1969 85
December 1969 84.23
January 1970 82.1
February 1970 81.91
March 1970 81.41
April 1970 80.87
May 1970 80.42
June 1970 79.93
July 1970 79.93
August 1970 79.14
September 1970 78.23
October 1970 76.24
November 1970 75.54
December 1970 77.29
January 1971 77.73
February 1971 77.56
March 1971 77.2
April 1971 77.41
May 1971 77.73
June 1971 77.73
July 1971 77.66
August 1971 76.55
September 1971 77.9
October 1971 78.86
November 1971 78.95
December 1971 79.49
January 1972 81.31
February 1972 81.71
March 1972 82.09
April 1972 82.84
May 1972 82.7
June 1972 82.8
July 1972 82.62
August 1972 83.45
September 1972 83.85
October 1972 84.86
November 1972 85.66
December 1972 86.55
January 1973 86.89
February 1973 88.05
March 1973 87.92
April 1973 87.5
May 1973 87.74
June 1973 87.41
July 1973 87.53
August 1973 86.99
September 1973 87.48
October 1973 87.9
November 1973 88.3
December 1973 88.12
January 1974 87.13
February 1974 86.53
March 1974 86.21
April 1974 85.6
May 1974 85.98
June 1974 85.84
July 1974 85.47
August 1974 84.58
September 1974 84.44
October 1974 83.61
November 1974 80.94
December 1974 77.18
January 1975 75.47
February 1975 73.21
March 1975 72.14
April 1975 71.91
May 1975 71.75
June 1975 72.24
July 1975 73.07
August 1975 73.73
September 1975 74.77
October 1975 75.03
November 1975 75.06
December 1975 75.88
January 1976 76.73
February 1976 77.67
March 1976 77.63
April 1976 77.98
May 1976 78.22
June 1976 78.04
July 1976 78.45
August 1976 78.78
September 1976 78.78
October 1976 78.55
November 1976 79.34
December 1976 79.97
January 1977 79.58
February 1977 80.78
March 1977 81.74
April 1977 82.36
May 1977 82.88
June 1977 83.35
July 1977 83.13
August 1977 83.27
September 1977 83.14
October 1977 83.1
November 1977 82.98
December 1977 83.62
January 1978 82.18
February 1978 82.22
March 1978 83.4
April 1978 84.49
May 1978 84.5
June 1978 84.9
July 1978 84.58
August 1978 84.73
September 1978 84.85
October 1978 85.22
November 1978 85.75
December 1978 86.16
January 1979 85.2
February 1979 85.29
March 1979 85.46
April 1979 83.91
May 1979 84.71
June 1979 84.57
July 1979 84.46
August 1979 83.18
September 1979 83.18
October 1979 83.25
November 1979 82.86
December 1979 82.9
January 1980 83.08
February 1980 82.81
March 1980 81.99
April 1980 80.08
May 1980 77.56
June 1980 76.2
July 1980 75.19
August 1980 75.57
September 1980 76.58
October 1980 77.73
November 1980 78.97
December 1980 78.95
January 1981 78.46
February 1981 77.78
March 1981 77.82
April 1981 78.01
May 1981 78.16
June 1981 77.53
July 1981 77.47
August 1981 77.33
September 1981 76.77
October 1981 75.88
November 1981 74.77
December 1981 73.34
January 1982 71.41
February 1982 73.23
March 1982 72.49
April 1982 71.82
May 1982 71.61
June 1982 71.38
July 1982 71.21
August 1982 70.51
September 1982 70.26
October 1982 69.36
November 1982 68.86
December 1982 68.58
January 1983 70.18
February 1983 70.06
March 1983 70.65
April 1983 71.43
May 1983 72.29
June 1983 72.82
July 1983 73.84
August 1983 74.37
September 1983 75.72
October 1983 76.51
November 1983 76.74
December 1983 76.87
January 1984 78.17
February 1984 78.89
March 1984 79.12
April 1984 79.42
May 1984 79.43
June 1984 79.62
July 1984 79.79
August 1984 79.73
September 1984 79.34
October 1984 79.42
November 1984 79.45
December 1984 79.49
January 1985 78.98
February 1985 78.48
March 1985 78.87
April 1985 78.31
May 1985 78.25
June 1985 78.18
July 1985 77.53
August 1985 77.8
September 1985 77.74
October 1985 77.38
November 1985 77.76
December 1985 77.98
January 1986 78.75
February 1986 78.24
March 1986 77.93
April 1986 78.16
May 1986 78.25
June 1986 77.9
July 1986 78.19
August 1986 78.34
September 1986 78.39
October 1986 78.58
November 1986 78.8
December 1986 79.3
January 1987 78.9
February 1987 79.87
March 1987 79.73
April 1987 80
May 1987 80.35
June 1987 80.42
July 1987 80.86
August 1987 81.19
September 1987 81.46
October 1987 82.58
November 1987 82.94
December 1987 83.32
January 1988 83.1
February 1988 83.23
March 1988 83.41
April 1988 84.08
May 1988 83.91
June 1988 84.03
July 1988 83.97
August 1988 83.98
September 1988 84.24
October 1988 84.6
November 1988 84.73
December 1988 85.04
January 1989 85.62
February 1989 84.64
March 1989 84.39
April 1989 84.44
May 1989 83.49
June 1989 83.46
July 1989 82.35
August 1989 82.84
September 1989 82.4
October 1989 82.05
November 1989 82.02
December 1989 81.87
Janury 1990 81.48
February 1990 82.46
March 1990 82.66
April 1990 82.27
May 1990 82.2
June 1990 82.26
July 1990 81.96
August 1990 82.05
September 1990 81.87
October 1990 81.06
November 1990 80.03
December 1990 79.33
January 1991 78.63
February 1991 78
March 1991 77.34
April 1991 77.51
May 1991 77.96
June 1991 78.68
July 1991 78.83
August 1991 78.88
September 1991 79.62
October 1991 79.35
November 1991 79.06
December 1991 78.77
January 1992 78.12
February 1992 78.62
March 1992 79.25
April 1992 79.49
May 1992 79.74
June 1992 79.77
July 1992 80.27
August 1992 79.73
September 1992 79.58
October 1992 79.91
November 1992 80.06
December 1992 79.81
January 1993 80.42
February 1993 80.47
March 1993 80.15
April 1993 80.45
May 1993 80.28
June 1993 80.03
July 1993 80.13
August 1993 79.84
September 1993 80.22
October 1993 80.76
November 1993 80.94
December 1993 81.22
January 1994 81.17
February 1994 81.05
March 1994 81.91
April 1994 82.35
May 1994 82.64
June 1994 82.6
July 1994 82.66
August 1994 83.02
September 1994 83.13
October 1994 83.65
November 1994 83.99
December 1994 84.6
January 1995 84.44
February 1995 83.91
March 1995 83.79
April 1995 83.35
May 1995 83.13
June 1995 83.19
July 1995 82.29
August 1995 82.83
September 1995 83.18
October 1995 82.74
November 1995 82.41
December 1995 82.3
January 1996 81.25
February 1996 82.1
March 1996 81.51
April 1996 81.98
May 1996 82.16
June 1996 82.56
July 1996 82.29
August 1996 82.3
September 1996 82.55
October 1996 81.96
November 1996 82.21
December 1996 82.48
January 1997 82.07
February 1997 82.76
March 1997 83.15
April 1997 82.52
May 1997 82.66
June 1997 82.7
July 1997 82.71
August 1997 83.2
September 1997 83.36
October 1997 83.49
November 1997 83.77
December 1997 83.46
January 1998 83.53
February 1998 83
March 1998 82.29
April 1998 82.08
May 1998 81.92
June 1998 80.73
July 1998 79.91
August 1998 81.35
September 1998 80.71
October 1998 81.04
November 1998 80.74
December 1998 80.76
January 1999 80.59
February 1999 80.85
March 1999 80.43
April 1999 80.37
May 1999 80.75
June 1999 80.12
July 1999 80.15
August 1999 80.3
September 1999 79.64
October 1999 80.49
November 1999 80.65
December 1999 80.85
January 2000 80.6
February 2000 80.41
March 2000 80.6
April 2000 80.87
May 2000 80.43
June 2000 80.28
July 2000 80.06
August 2000 79.2
September 2000 79.23
October 2000 78.7
November 2000 78.19
December 2000 77.48
January 2001 76.76
February 2001 76.03
March 2001 75.57
April 2001 75.16
May 2001 74.4
June 2001 73.72
July 2001 73.22
August 2001 72.71
September 2001 72.42
October 2001 71.87
November 2001 71.56
December 2001 71.68
January 2002 71.99
February 2002 71.92
March 2002 72.44
April 2002 72.54
May 2002 72.9
June 2002 73.71
July 2002 73.44
August 2002 73.59
September 2002 73.68
October 2002 73.39
November 2002 73.72
December 2002 73.34
January 2003 73.7
February 2003 73.79
March 2003 73.9
April 2003 73.28
May 2003 73.36
June 2003 73.72
July 2003 73.88
August 2003 73.57
September 2003 74.19
October 2003 74.29
November 2003 75.09
December 2003 74.96
January 2004 74.94
February 2004 75.52
March 2004 75.44
April 2004 75.75
May 2004 76.39
June 2004 75.85
July 2004 76.52
August 2004 76.86
September 2004 76.8
October 2004 77.51
November 2004 77.38
December 2004 77.83
January 2005 78.3
February 2005 78.8
March 2005 78.28
April 2005 78.39
May 2005 78.51
June 2005 78.48
July 2005 78.02
August 2005 78.15
September 2005 77.24
October 2005 78.24
November 2005 78.7
December 2005 78.68
January 2006 79.17
February 2006 78.81
March 2006 78.65
April 2006 78.96
May 2006 78.48
June 2006 78.63
July 2006 78.26
August 2006 78.61
September 2006 78.54
October 2006 78.11
November 2006 78
December 2006 78.98
January 2007 78.4
February 2007 78.54
March 2007 79
April 2007 79.36
May 2007 79.1
June 2007 79.15
July 2007 79.03
August 2007 78.63
September 2007 78.83
October 2007 78.38
November 2007 78.7
December 2007 78.71
January 2008 78.35
February 2008 77.87
March 2008 77.65
April 2008 76.87
May 2008 76.56
June 2008 76.22
July 2008 75.42
August 2008 74.65
September 2008 72.22
October 2008 71.9
November 2008 70.33
December 2008 68.01
January 2009 66.06
February 2009 66.06
March 2009 64.94
April 2009 64.5
May 2009 63.87
June 2009 63.73
July 2009 64.72
August 2009 65.57
September 2009 66.21
October 2009 66.45
November 2009 67.19
December 2009 67.15
January 2010 67.98
February 2010 68.06
March 2010 69
April 2010 69.71
May 2010 70.83
June 2010 70.92
July 2010 71.47
August 2010 71.75
September 2010 71.91
October 2010 72.13
November 2010 72.25
December 2010 72.62
January 2011 72.87
February 2011 73.01
March 2011 73.49
April 2011 73.09
May 2011 73.22
June 2011 73.28
July 2011 73.67
August 2011 73.92
September 2011 74.11
October 2011 74.5
November 2011 74.18
December 2011 74.58
January 2012 75.19
February 2012 75.38
March 2012 74.9
April 2012 75.28
May 2012 74.88
June 2012 74.95
July 2012 74.75
August 2012 74.53
September 2012 74.41
October 2012 74.16
November 2012 74.64
December 2012 75.09
January 2013 74.8
February 2013 75.09
March 2013 74.87
April 2013 74.53
May 2013 74.65
June 2013 74.76
July 2013 73.94
August 2013 74.65
September 2013 74.71
October 2013 74.77
November 2013 74.74
December 2013 74.69
January 2014 73.9
February 2014 74.7
March 2014 75.26
April 2014 75.22
May 2014 75.38
June 2014 75.64
July 2014 75.83
August 2014 75.56
September 2014 75.56
October 2014 75.55
November 2014 76.24
December 2014 75.97
January 2015 75.7
February 2015 75.35
March 2015 75.56
April 2015 75.62
May 2015 75.55
June 2015 75.34
July 2015 75.79
August 2015 75.71
September 2015 75.48
October 2015 75.56
November 2015 75.45
December 2015 75.21
January 2016 75.59
February 2016 75.43
March 2016 75.22
April 2016 75.15
May 2016 74.96
June 2016 75.06
July 2016 75.07
August 2016 74.75
September 2016 74.89
October 2016 74.98
November 2016 75.07
December 2016 75.16
January 2017 75.41
February 2017 75.61
March 2017 75.05
April 2017 75.99
May 2017 75.57
June 2017 75.6
July 2017 75.31
August 2017 75.15
September 2017 75.19
October 2017 76.26
November 2017 76.42
December 2017 76.44

Note: Shaded bars indicate periods of business recession as defined by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER): November 1948-October 1949, July 1953-May 1954, August 1957-April 1958, April 1960-February 1961, December 1969-November 1970, November 1973-March 1975, January 1980-July 1980, July 1981-November 1982, July 1990-March 1991, March 2001-November 2001, and December 2007-June 2009.

Source: Federal Reserve Board, G.17 Statistical Release on Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization.

Return to text

Figure 2: Manufacturing Capacity Utilization with Fixed 1972 Weights and Contemporaneous Weights

Percent of Capacity
Period 1972 Weights Contemporaneous Weights
1972 83.25 83.25
1973 87.56 87.68
1974 83.69 84.53
1975 73.05 73.57
1976 78.16 78.43
1977 82.18 82.44
1978 84.29 84.35
1979 83.62 84.01
1980 77.3 78.45
1981 75.61 76.59
1982 68.26 70.31
1983 71.6 72.92
1984 77.86 78.87
1985 76.63 77.57
1986 76.91 77.92
1987 79.53 80.54
1988 83.19 83.75
1989 82.67 83.1
1990 80.97 81.54
1991 77.66 78.43
1992 79.13 79.51
1993 80.55 80.37
1994 83.07 82.73
1995 82.96 83.18
1996 82.1 82.24
1997 82.76 82.84
1998 81.38 81.26
1999 79.4 80.08
2000 78.42 79.21
2001 72.94 73.36
2002 72.21 72.62
2003 72.53 73.58
2004 75.01 76.08
2005 77.29 78.09
2006 77.96 78.54
2007 78.71 78.9
2008 74.26 74.52
2009 61.61 65.47
2010 68.57 70.93
2011 71.86 73.98
2012 73.88 75.3
2013 73.94 75.11
2014 74.73 75.8
2015 74.43 75.93
2016 73.58 75.52
2017 74.03 76.22

Source: Federal Reserve Board, G.17 Statistical Release on Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization.

Return to text

Figure 3: Reasons for Operating Below Full Capacity

Period Insufficient Orders Insufficient supply of local labor force/skills
Q4-1997 75.01 19.29
Q4-1998 78.06 18.15
Q4-1999 72.14 20.43
Q4-2000 75.95 15.87
Q4-2001 81.7 8.67
Q4-2002 81.98 7.6
Q4-2003 80.93 7.94
Q4-2004 76.95 11.85
Q4-2005 75.51 14.24
Q4-2006 76.03 14.49
Q4-2007 ND ND
Q1-2008 77.27 9.9
Q2-2008 76.96 8.97
Q3-2008 81.93 6.09
Q4-2008 83.41 2.85
Q1-2009 86.3 2.15
Q2-2009 87.79 1.43
Q3-2009 87.95 1.82
Q4-2009 85.95 1.51
Q1-2010 86.04 3.95
Q2-2010 84.82 5.68
Q3-2010 83.52 5.28
Q4-2010 84.1 5.23
Q1-2011 83.17 6.19
Q2-2011 81.85 6.89
Q3-2011 82.87 6.76
Q4-2011 81.01 6.61
Q1-2012 83.58 7.59
Q2-2012 83.69 7.7
Q3-2012 84.2 6.91
Q4-2012 83.65 5.42
Q1-2013 83.72 6.34
Q2-2013 84.66 6.17
Q3-2013 82.88 6.38
Q4-2013 81.69 6.51
Q1-2014 82.36 7.42
Q2-2014 81.24 9.15
Q3-2014 81.49 9.54
Q4-2014 81.06 7.99
Q1-2015 81.04 9.02
Q2-2015 75.23 13.76
Q3-2015 76.23 13.08
Q4-2015 75.27 11.19
Q1-2016 77.97 12.67
Q2-2016 80.25 12.32
Q3-2016 79.02 10.47
Q4-2016 76.93 11.73
Q1-2017 77 12.5
Q2-2017 75.77 14.26
Q3-2017 73.47 17.37

Notes: Gaps in series represent the ending of the annual Survey of Plant Capacity in 2006 and the start of the Quarterly Survey of Plant Capacity in 2007.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Plant Capacity and Quarterly Survey of Plant Capacity.

Return to text

Figure 4: Changes in capacity utilization rates by quartile bins

Percent of Capacity
Year 1st Quartile 2nd Quartile 3rd Quartile 4th Quartile
1972 85.85 87.34 78.77 83.93
1973 89.25 90.39 83.68 88.36
1974 84.52 85.98 81.41 86.22
1975 76.54 74.24 69.52 71.71
1976 81.24 79.49 76.25 77.61
1977 84.72 83.60 81.63 80.94
1978 86.56 85.12 83.69 83.58
1979 85.46 83.73 82.82 84.09
1980 81.74 74.89 78.13 76.54
1981 78.77 74.36 75.99 75.84
1982 73.69 67.10 69.11 69.56
1983 77.12 72.10 73.87 73.44
1984 81.09 79.86 81.31 79.03
1985 78.46 77.01 78.67 77.68
1986 79.28 77.83 77.56 79.05
1987 82.50 79.94 80.90 83.28
1988 83.89 83.15 84.22 87.00
1989 82.97 82.57 82.79 85.65
1990 81.80 80.39 81.29 85.09
1991 78.35 76.37 78.42 81.67
1992 81.00 78.37 80.36 82.96
1993 80.56 81.37 82.08 84.74
1994 82.30 84.69 85.39 87.27
1995 81.77 83.32 84.96 87.64
1996 79.95 82.23 83.97 87.24
1997 80.78 83.83 83.38 88.73
1998 79.27 81.33 83.47 86.02
1999 76.63 79.66 82.06 86.19
2000 75.94 78.58 79.88 84.94
2001 69.19 72.26 71.31 78.36
2002 67.48 72.63 72.14 79.54
2003 67.62 72.72 73.26 80.49
2004 70.76 75.29 77.03 83.84
2005 74.09 77.20 79.39 83.58
2006 73.35 77.64 79.44 83.73
2007 70.92 77.45 77.83 85.15
2008 65.34 73.01 72.96 79.34
2009 54.56 59.38 64.97 69.95
2010 59.40 65.45 71.19 78.84
2011 62.13 67.47 73.29 81.74
2012 62.92 70.44 74.79 82.28
2013 64.23 70.28 75.17 82.61
2014 63.35 70.43 75.62 85.38
2015 63.54 71.23 75.61 85.39
2016 62.69 72.48 74.89 84.76

Source: Federal Reserve Board, G.17 Statistical Release on Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization.

Return to text

Figure 5: Average utilization rate of continuous reporters

Period Percent of Capacity, Continuing Establishments Percent of Capacity, Manufacturing Industry
Q4-1979 80.24 83
Q4-1980 72.92 78.55
Q4-1981 66.53 74.66
Q4-1982 61.98 68.93
Q4-1983 71.2 76.7
Q4-1984 74.03 79.45
Q4-1985 70.91 77.71
Q4-1986 72.98 78.89
Q4-1987 78.04 82.95
Q4-1988 78.04 84.79
Q4-1989 78.88 81.98
Q4-1990 78.27 80.14
Q4-1991 78.44 79.06
Q4-1992 79.2 79.93
Q4-1993 80.95 80.97
Q4-1995 79.44 82.48
Q4-1996 78.9 82.22
Q4-1997 74.65 83.57
Q4-1998 73.11 80.84
Q4-1999 73.83 80.66

Notes: Data for 1994 are excluded due to different data reporting practices in that year.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Plant Capacity.

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Last Update: March 01, 2018