INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION
[2004 Revision Notice Below]

Industrial production increased 0.4 percent in July; output in June was revised down and is now estimated to have decreased 0.5 percent. Utilities output fell noticeably in both months. In manufacturing, a production gain of 0.6 percent in July more than reversed the previous month's decline. Mining output also moved back up in July after a decline in June. At 116.2 percent of its 1997 average, industrial production in July was 4.9 percent above its level a year earlier. Capacity utilization for total industry rose 0.2 percentage point in July, to 77.1 percent, a rate 4.0 percentage points below its 1972-2003 average.

r  Revised.  p  Preliminary.

       The statistics in this release cover output, capacity, and capacity utilization in the

industrial sector, which the Federal Reserve defines as manufacturing, mining, and electric and

gas utilities.  Manufacturing comprises those industries included in the North American Industry

Classification System, or NAICS, manufacturing plus the logging and newspaper, periodical,

book and directory publishing industries that have traditionally been considered manufacturing and included

in the industrial sector.

Market Groups

The output of consumer goods rose 0.2 percent in July. In the consumer durable goods category, which moved up 0.4 percent, both home electronics and miscellaneous goods advanced, but appliances, furniture, and carpeting fell; the output of automotive products was little changed after sharp decreases in May and June. The production of consumer nondurables was up 0.2 percent, as an increase in non-energy consumer nondurables, including chemical products, paper products, and foods and tobacco, more than offset a decline in the output of consumer energy products.

The production of business equipment rose 1.5 percent in July, its ninth consecutive monthly increase. Within transit equipment, a rise in motor vehicle output, particularly in medium and heavy trucks, more than offset a decrease in the output of commercial aircraft. The production of information processing equipment posted an above-average monthly gain of 2.2 percent, an increase marked by advances in most of its components. Increases in the output of farm equipment, medical equipment and supplies, and construction machinery contributed to a rise in the index for industrial and other equipment. Production of defense and space equipment jumped 1.6 percent and was 5.3 percent above its year-ago level. An increase in the output of business supplies reversed a moderate decline in the previous month, while construction supplies edged up 0.1 percent in July. A rise of 0.2 percent in the output of materials reflected an increase in non-energy materials and a decrease in energy materials. Continued gains in the output of semiconductors boosted the index for durable goods materials 0.3 percent, and nondurable goods materials moved up 0.4 percent.

Industry Groups

Production in manufacturing increased 0.6 percent in July, as both durables and nondurables posted sizable gains in output. Capacity utilization in manufacturing stepped up to 76.3 percent, its highest level since May 2001. Output in durable manufacturing rose 0.7 percent in July after having been unchanged in June. The production of motor vehicles and parts fell for a third straight month, primarily because of another drop in the parts component. Elsewhere in durable manufacturing, declines in the indexes for wood products, primary metals, and furniture and related products were more than offset by increases elsewhere, especially in computer and electronic products, machinery, aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment, and miscellaneous manufacturing. The output of nondurable manufacturers increased 0.4 percent, with sizable increases in printing, chemicals, petroleum and coal products, and textile and product mills.

In mining, increases in coal mining and in oil and gas extraction accounted for most of the overall rise in July. Output at utilities moved down 2 percent. Capacity utilization in mining jumped to 85.0 percent, while the operating rate at utilities moved down to 82.2 percent.

Capacity utilization for industries in the crude stage of processing increased 0.8 percentage point, to 85.5 percent, in July. For industries in the primary and semifinished stages, it edged down more than 0.2 percentage point, to 78.9 percent. For industries in the finished goods stage, it rose 0.6 percentage point, to 73.7 percent.

Revision of Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization

In fall 2004, the Federal Reserve Board plans to issue an annual revision to the index of industrial production (IP), the related measures of capacity and capacity utilization, and the data on industrial use of electric power; the date of the revision is subject to the availability of the comprehensive source data from the Census Bureau's 2002 Economic Census. In addition to the inclusion of these data, the revised IP indexes will incorporate data from selected editions of the Census Bureau's 2002 and 2003 Current Industrial Reports. Annual data from the U.S. Geological Survey regarding metallic and nonmetallic minerals (except fuels) for 2002 and 2003 will also be introduced. The updating will also include revisions to the monthly indicator for each industry (either physical product data, production-worker hours, or electric power usage) and revisions to seasonal factors.

Capacity and capacity utilization will be revised to incorporate preliminary data from the Census Bureau's 2003 Survey of Plant Capacity, which covers manufacturing, along with new data on capacity from the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Energy, and other organizations. The statistics on the industrial use of electric power will incorporate additional information received from utilities for the past few years and will include available data from the 2002 Economic Census.

Once the revision is published, it will be made available on the Board's web site at www.federalreserve.gov/releases/G17. The revised data will also be available through the web site of the Department of Commerce. Further information on these revisions is available from the Board's Industrial Output Section (telephone 202-452-3197).

G.17 Release Tables:

Ascii	Screen reader	Summary: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization
Chart		Chart 1: Industrial Production, Capacity, and Capacity Utilization
Chart		Chart 2: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization
Chart		Chart 3: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization, High Technology Industries
Ascii	Screen reader	Table 1:Industrial Production: Market and Industry Groups (percent change)
Ascii	Screen reader	Table 2:Industrial Production: Special Aggregates and Selected Detail (percent change)
Ascii	Screen reader	Table 3: Motor Vehicle Assemblies
Ascii	Screen reader	Table 4: Industrial Production Indexes: Market and Industry Group Summary
Ascii	Screen reader	Table 5: Industrial Production Indexes: Special Aggregates
Ascii	Screen reader	Table 6: Diffusion Indexes of Industrial Production
Ascii	Screen reader	Table 7: Capacity Utilization: Manufacturing, Mining, and Utilities
Ascii	Screen reader	Table 8: Industrial Capacity: Manufacturing, Mining, and Utilities (percent change)
Ascii	Screen reader	Table 9: Industrial Production: Gross Value of Products and Nonindustrial Supplies
Ascii	Screen reader	Table 10: Gross-Value-Weighted Industrial Production: Stage-of-Process Groups
Ascii	Screen reader	Table 11: Electric Power Use: Manufacturing and Mining
Ascii	Screen reader	Table 12: Historical Statistics for IP, Capacity, and Utilization: Total Industry
Ascii	Screen reader	Table 13: Historical Statistics for IP, Capacity, and Utilization: Manufacturing
Ascii	Screen reader	Table 14: Historical Statistics for IP, Capacity, and Utilization: Total Industry excluding Selected High-Technology Industries
Ascii	Screen reader	Table 15: Historical Statistics for IP, Capacity, and Utilization: Manufacturing excluding Selected High-Technology Industries

Release dates | Historical data | Documentation
Current Monthly Release   Other formats: ASCII | PDF (144 KB)
Supplemental Monthly Release   Other formats: ASCII | PDF (144 KB)
Annual Revision Release   Other formats: ASCII | PDF (150 KB)

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