INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION

Industrial output rose 0.8 percent in August, following an upwardly revised increase of 1.0 percent in July. Production in manufacturing expanded 0.6 percent in August, and the index excluding motor vehicles and parts increased 0.4 percent. The gain in July for manufacturing was revised up 0.4 percentage point, to 1.4 percent; in addition, factory output for April through June is now somewhat less weak than reported previously. Production at mines moved up 0.5 percent in August. The output of utilities gained 1.9 percent, as temperatures swung from an unseasonably mild July to a slightly warmer-than-usual August. At 97.4 percent of its 2002 average, total industrial production was 10.7 percent below its level of a year earlier. In August, the capacity utilization rate for total industry advanced to 69.6 percent, a level 11.3 percentage points below its average for the period 1972 through 2008.

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION: SUMMARY
Seasonally adjusted

Industrial production	2002=100						Percent change
	2009						2009						Aug. '08 to Aug. '09
	Mar.[r]	Apr.[r]	May[r]	June[r]	July[r]	Aug.[p]	Mar.[r]	Apr.[r]	May[r]	June[r]	July[r]	Aug.[p]
Total index	97.7	97.2	96.1	95.8	96.7	97.4	-1.6	-.6	-1.1	-.4	1.0	.8	-10.7
Previous estimates	97.7	97.0	95.9	95.5	96.0		-1.6	-.7	-1.1	-.4	.5
Major market groups
Final Products	101.6	100.7	99.4	99.0	99.9	101.0	-1.1	-.9	-1.2	-.4	.9	1.1	-7.3
Consumer goods	98.3	97.7	96.7	96.4	97.1	98.4	-.4	-.6	-1.0	-.4	.8	1.3	-4.1
Business equipment	110.6	108.7	106.4	105.9	107.0	107.6	-2.6	-1.7	-2.1	-.5	1.1	.6	-14.7
Nonindustrial supplies	91.4	91.1	90.4	90.5	90.7	91.1	-1.9	-.4	-.8	.1	.2	.4	-13.2
Construction	82.7	82.0	82.0	82.0	82.5	82.5	-2.3	-.9	.1	.0	.7	.0	-18.5
Materials	96.5	96.2	95.2	94.7	95.9	96.4	-2.0	-.3	-1.0	-.5	1.3	.6	-13.0
Major industry groups
Manufacturing (see note below)	96.1	95.6	94.7	94.4	95.7	96.3	-1.7	-.5	-.9	-.3	1.4	.6	-12.2
Previous estimates	96.0	95.4	94.4	93.9	94.8		-1.7	-.7	-1.0	-.6	1.0
Mining	98.7	96.1	95.0	94.1	94.7	95.2	-2.6	-2.7	-1.1	-.9	.6	.5	-10.5
Utilities	106.1	106.4	104.3	103.8	102.2	104.1	-.3	.3	-2.0	-.5	-1.6	1.9	-.1

Market Groups

The output of consumer goods strengthened 1.3 percent in August, as the production indexes for both durables and nondurables climbed. The gain in consumer durables was the result of an increase in automotive products. The indexes for the other major categories of durables registered losses: Home electronics fell 1.4 percent; appliances, furniture, and carpeting declined 0.8 percent; and miscellaneous goods decreased 1.0 percent. The output of nondurable consumer goods rose 1.1 percent because of advances in both the energy and non-energy sectors. The index for non-energy consumer nondurable goods jumped 1.2 percent, with gains in all of its major components. The production indexes for foods and tobacco and for clothing moved up more than 1.5 percent, while the indexes for chemical products and for paper products recorded smaller gains. The production of consumer energy goods increased 0.8 percent.

The index for business equipment rose 0.6 percent in August, following a gain of 1.1 percent in July. Within business equipment, the output of transit equipment increased 2.3 percent in August, and the output of industrial and other equipment rose 0.8 percent; these gains more than offset a decline of 0.8 percent in information processing equipment. The output of transit equipment was boosted by advances in motor vehicles and aircraft. The decrease in the production of information processing equipment principally resulted from declines in electromedical equipment and in search and navigation equipment. The index for defense and space equipment was unchanged, following a gain of nearly 2 percent in July.

After a revised increase of 0.7 percent in July, the output of construction supplies was unchanged in August. The index for business supplies advanced 0.6, percent primarily as a result of a gain in sales by utilities to commercial businesses.

The production of materials rose 0.6 percent, with gains in nondurable and energy materials outweighing a small loss in durables. Within the category of durable materials, equipment parts fell 0.4 percent, consumer parts slipped 0.2 percent, and other durable materials inched up 0.1 percent. Nondurable materials increased 0.8 percent with the advances widespread; the indexes for textiles, paper, and chemical materials all rose. Energy materials increased 1.2 percent; a gain in electricity generation accounted for almost 1 percentage point of the advance.

Industry Groups

Production in manufacturing expanded 0.6 percent in August, and the factory operating rate increased to 66.6 percent, a rate 13.0 percentage points below its 1972-2008 average. The upward revision to manufacturing production in July was led by output gains for steel products and high-tech products that were stronger than previously reported, while much of the upward revision for April through June reflected higher production of chemicals. The output of durable goods moved up 0.5 percent in August. The index for motor vehicles and parts advanced 5.5 percent, after increasing 20.1 percent in July. Nevertheless, in August this index stood more than 20 percent below its year-earlier level. Primary metals; machinery; electrical equipment, appliances, and components; and miscellaneous manufacturing all posted gains between 1/2 and 1 percent. However, the output of nonmetallic mineral products dropped 1.9 percent, and the indexes for wood products and for computer and electronic products both contracted 0.8 percent. The output of nondurable goods rose 0.7 percent, with mixed results across components. The index for food, beverage, and tobacco products expanded 1.6 percent. Less sizable gains were recorded for textile and product mills, apparel and leather, chemicals, and plastics and rubber products. The indexes for paper and for printing and related support activities each edged down 0.2 percent, while the index for petroleum and coal products fell 0.5 percent because of lower refinery output.

The index for other manufacturing (non-NAICS), which consists of publishing and logging, rose 0.9 percent in August.

The index for utilities increased 1.9 percent, primarily as a result of a gain in the output of electricity. The operating rate for utilities climbed 1.4 percentage points, to 78.7 percent. Mining production moved up 0.5 percent, and the utilization rate rose to 82.2 percent, a rate 5.4 percentage points below its 1972-2008 average.

Capacity utilization rates at industries grouped by stage of process were as follows: For the crude stage, utilization increased 0.7 percentage point, to 80.7 percent, a rate nearly 6 percentage points below its 1972-2008 average; for the primary and semifinished stages, utilization moved up 0.4 percentage point, to 66.7 percent, a rate 15.3 percentage points below its long-run average; and for the finished stage, utilization increased 0.8 percentage point, to 68.5 percent, a rate 9.2 percentage points below its long-run average.

Note: This release includes the G.17 publication schedule for 2010.

Note. The statistics in this release cover output, capacity, and capacity utilization in the U.S. industrial sector, which is defined by the Federal Reserve to comprise manufacturing, mining, and electric and gas utilities. Mining is defined as all industries in sector 21 of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS); electric and gas utilities are those in NAICS sectors 2211 and 2212. Manufacturing comprises NAICS manufacturing industries (sector 31-33) plus the logging industry and the newspaper, periodical, book, and directory publishing industries. Logging and publishing are classified elsewhere in NAICS (under agriculture and information respectively), but historically they were considered to be manufacturing and were included in the industrial sector under the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. In December 2002 the Federal Reserve reclassified all its industrial output data from the SIC system to NAICS.

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: Historical Statistics for IP, Capacity, and Utilization: Total Industry
Ascii	Screen reader	Table 12: Historical Statistics for IP, Capacity, and Utilization: Manufacturing
Ascii	Screen reader	Table 13: Historical Statistics for IP, Capacity, and Utilization: Total Industry excluding Selected High-Technology Industries
Ascii	Screen reader	Table 14: Historical Statistics for IP, Capacity, and Utilization: Manufacturing excluding Selected High-Technology Industries