Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization - G.17

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Release Date: September 15, 2021

Industrial production increased 0.4 percent in August after moving up 0.8 percent in July. Late-month shutdowns related to Hurricane Ida held down the gain in industrial production by an estimated 0.3 percentage point. Although the hurricane forced plant closures for petrochemicals, plastic resins, and petroleum refining, overall manufacturing output rose 0.2 percent. Mining production fell 0.6 percent, reflecting hurricane-induced disruptions to oil and gas extraction in the Gulf of Mexico. The output of utilities increased 3.3 percent, as unseasonably warm temperatures boosted demand for air conditioning.

At 101.6 percent of its 2017 average, total industrial production in August was 5.9 percent above its year-earlier level and 0.3 percent above its pre-pandemic (February 2020) level. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector rose 0.2 percentage point in August to 76.4 percent, a rate that is 3.2 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2020) average.

Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization: Summary
Seasonally adjusted
Industrial production 2017=100 Percent change
2021 2021 Aug. '20 to
Aug. '21
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 99.2 99.2 99.9 100.3 101.2 101.6 2.9 .1 .6 .5 .8 .4 5.9
Previous estimates 99.1 99.2 100.0 100.2 101.1   2.8 .0 .8 .2 .9    
       
Major market groups
Final Products 99.8 98.9 99.8 99.7 101.3 102.0 1.8 -.8 .8 -.1 1.6 .7 5.0
Consumer goods 99.9 99.4 100.1 99.7 100.4 101.3 1.3 -.5 .7 -.3 .7 .8 1.9
Business equipment 94.0 92.3 93.8 93.5 97.0 97.5 3.0 -1.8 1.6 -.4 3.8 .5 8.9
Nonindustrial supplies 96.8 96.6 96.6 96.3 97.2 97.8 2.7 -.3 .0 -.4 1.0 .6 5.9
Construction 101.7 100.1 99.2 98.3 99.6 100.0 4.7 -1.5 -.9 -.9 1.3 .4 5.3
Materials 99.2 100.3 100.9 102.2 102.4 102.4 4.0 1.0 .7 1.3 .1 .1 6.9
       
Major industry groups
Manufacturing (see note below) 97.8 97.5 98.3 98.0 99.5 99.7 3.4 -.3 .8 -.3 1.6 .2 5.9
Previous estimates 97.7 97.4 98.5 98.2 99.5   3.4 -.3 1.1 -.3 1.4    
Mining 105.4 105.2 106.6 107.0 108.0 107.3 12.0 -.2 1.3 .3 1.0 -.6 10.3
Utilities 99.0 101.8 100.2 106.4 102.2 105.5 -8.6 2.8 -1.5 6.2 -4.0 3.3 2.1

Capacity utilization Percent of capacity Capacity
growth
Average
1972-
2020 		1988-
89
high 		1990-
91
low 		1994-
95
high 		 
2009
low 		 
2020
Aug. 		   
2021 Aug. '20 to
Aug. '21
Mar.[r] Apr.[r] May[r] June[r] July[r] Aug.[p]
       
Total industry 79.6 85.2 78.8 85.1 66.6 72.3 74.8 74.8 75.2 75.6 76.2 76.4 .2
Previous estimates             74.7 74.7 75.3 75.4 76.1    
       
Manufacturing (see note below) 78.2 85.6 77.3 84.7 63.5 72.3 75.3 75.0 75.6 75.4 76.6 76.7 -.1
Previous estimates             75.2 75.0 75.8 75.5 76.6    
Mining 86.2 86.0 83.8 88.3 78.3 67.9 74.5 74.4 75.5 75.8 76.5 76.1 -1.6
Utilities 85.0 93.1 84.6 93.2 78.0 76.0 71.6 73.5 72.2 76.5 73.3 75.6 2.6
       
Stage-of-process groups
Crude 85.4 87.7 84.6 89.7 76.5 70.1 73.9 75.3 77.2 77.4 77.9 77.1 -.9
Primary and semifinished 80.2 86.5 78.1 87.9 63.5 72.1 74.2 74.5 74.3 75.1 75.0 75.7 .5
Finished 76.8 83.4 77.5 80.7 66.5 73.1 75.8 74.9 75.6 75.4 77.0 77.2 -.1
[r] Revised. [p] Preliminary.
Market Groups

Almost all major market groups posted increases in August, buoyed by strength in the output of utilities. Among consumer goods, the production of durables and non-energy nondurables increased modestly, while the index for consumer energy products moved up 2.5 percent. The output of business equipment, construction supplies, and business supplies posted gains of around 1/2 to 3/4 percent. The production of materials edged up, as an increase for energy materials offset a decrease for non-energy materials.

Industry Groups

Despite an estimated drag of 0.2 percentage point due to Hurricane Ida, manufacturing output increased 0.2 percent in August and was 1.0 percent above its pre-pandemic level. The production of durable goods edged up in August; among its industries, the largest gain was recorded by furniture and related products and the largest loss was recorded by electrical equipment, appliances, and components. The output of nondurable goods also edged up, with gains for food, beverage, and tobacco products, for paper, and for petroleum and coal products outweighing losses elsewhere, in particular for chemicals. The output of other manufacturing (publishing and logging) rose 2.4 percent.

Capacity utilization for manufacturing increased 0.1 percentage point in August to 76.7 percent. The operating rate for mining fell 0.4 percentage point to 76.1 percent, while the operating rate for utilities rose 2.3 percentage points to 75.6 percent. The rates for all three sectors remained below their long-run averages.

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.

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Last Update: September 15, 2021