Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization for April 2001.Released for publication May 14 Industrial production declined 0.3 percent in April after a drop in output in the first quarter that was steeper than previously reported. At 144.9 percent of its 1992 average, industrial production in April was 1.0 percent lower than in April 2000. Manufacturing output also fell 0.3 percent in April and has contracted nearly 3.5 percent since its recent peak in September September: see month. 2000. Manufacturing output excluding motor vehicles and parts declined 0.4 percent in April. Output at utilities moved down 1.0 percent, and production in mining rose 0.6 percent. The rate of capacity utilization Capacity Utilization measures the rate at which a firm makes use of their capital productive capacities, such as factories and machinery. Capacity Utilization generally rises when the economy is healthy and falls when demand softens. for total industry fell further, to 78.5 percent, more than 31/2 percentage points below its 1967-2000 average.
Industrial production and capacity utilization, April 2001
Industrial production, index, 1992 = 100
Category 2001
Jan.(r) Feb.(r) Mar.(r) Apr. (p)
Total 146.0 145.5 145.3 144.9
Previous estimate 146.4 145.9 146.5 ...
Major market groups
Products, total(2) 135.0 134.7 134.8 134.3
Consumer goods 121.8 122.3 122.4 122.2
Business equipment 197.4 195.1 196.1 193.8
Construction supplies 140.7 139.7 139.2 138.4
Materials 165.9 164.8 164.3 163.9
Major industry groups
Manufacturing 151.3 150.7 150.3 149.8
Durable 192.3 191.0 191.9 190.7
Nondurable 114.0 114.0 112.8 112.8
Mining 101.0 101.3 102.4 103.1
Utilities 124.0 123.1 123.6 122.3
Capacity utilization, percent
2000
Average, Low, High,
1967-00 1982 1988-89 Apr.
Total 82.1 71.1 85.4 82.5
Manufacturing 81.1 69.0 85.7 81.8
Advanced processing 80.6 71.0 84.2 79.8
Primary processing 82.2 65.7 88.3 86.2
Mining 87.4 80.3 88.0 85.7
Utilities 87.6 75.9 92.6 90.0
Industrial production, index, 1992 = 100
Percent change
Category
2001(1)
Jan.(r) Feb.(r) Mar.(r) Apr.(p)
Total -.9 -.4 -.1 -.3
Previous estimate -.6 -.4 .4 ...
Major market groups
Products, total(2) -.7 -.2 .1 -.4
Consumer goods -1.1 .4 .1 -.2
Business equipment -.9 -1.2 .5 -1.1
Construction supplies .0 -.7 -.3 -.6
Materials -1.1 -.6 -.4 -.2
Major industry groups
Manufacturing -.8 -.4 -.2 -.3
Durable -1.4 -.7 .4 -.6
Nondurable -.1 .0 -1.1 .0
Mining 1.4 -.3 1.1 .6
Utilities -3.9 -.7 .4 -1.0
Capacity utilization, percent
2001
Jan.(r) Feb.(r) Mar.(r) Apr.(p)
Total 79.7 79.2 78.9 78.5
Manufacturing 78.4 77.9 77.5 77.1
Advanced processing 78.6 78.1 78.1 77.7
Primary processing 79.2 78.6 77.6 77.1
Mining 87.5 87.8 88.9 89.6
Utilities 91.7 90.7 90.8 89.6
Percent
change
Category Apr. 2000
to
Apr. 2001
Total -1.0
Previous estimate ...
Major market groups
Products, total(2) -.7
Consumer goods -.8
Business equipment 1.4
Construction supplies -4.2
Materials -1.3
Major industry groups
Manufacturing -1.6
Durable -.1
Nondurable -3.3
Mining 3.2
Utilities 3.1
MEMO
Capacity,
percent
Apr. 2000
to
Apr. 2001
Total 4.0
Manufacturing 4.5
Advanced processing 2.3
Primary processing 8.0
Mining -1.3
Utilities 3.5
NOTE. Data seasonally adjusted or calculated from seasonally adjusted
monthly data.
(1.) Change from preceding month.
(2.) Contains components in addition to those shown.
(r) Revised.
(p) Preliminary.
MARKET GROUPS The output of consumer goods consumer goods Any tangible commodity purchased by households to satisfy their wants and needs. Consumer goods may be durable or nondurable. Durable goods (e.g., autos, furniture, and appliances) have a significant life span, often defined as three years or more, and declined 0.2 percent in April. The production of automotive products edged up 0.6 percent after a stronger gain in March; nonetheless, output remained below the level posted before the industry's downturn Downturn The transition point between a rising, expanding economy to a falling, contracting one. downturn A decline in security prices or economic activity following a period of rising or stable prices or activity. that began in October October: see month. of last year. The production indexes declined for most other consumer durables Consumer durables Consumer products that are expected to last three years or more, such as an automobile or a home appliance. consumer durables See durable goods. and for consumer energy products. The decline in the energy index reflected a drop in utility output for residential use that more than offset a jump in the production of automotive gasoline gasoline or petrol, light, volatile mixture of hydrocarbons for use in the internal-combustion engine and as an organic solvent, obtained primarily by fractional distillation and "cracking" of petroleum, but also obtained from natural gas, by . The output of nondurable non·du·ra·ble adj. Not enduring; being in a state of constant consumption: nondurable items such as paper products. n. A consumable item: nondurables such as food. consumer goods excluding energy was unchanged and thus continued the sluggish pattern of production that has been evident over the past year. The production of business equipment dropped 1.1 percent, more than reversing the gain posted in March; production for this group has fallen more than 3 percent since November November: see month. . The output of industrial and other equipment fell nearly 2 percent in April, with sharp losses in construction equipment, metal-working machinery, and farm machinery. The output of information processing information processing: see data processing. information processing Acquisition, recording, organization, retrieval, display, and dissemination of information. Today the term usually refers to computer-based operations. equipment declined 0.4 percent further, pushed down by continued weakness in the production of communications equipment and computers. The output of transit equipment also declined, largely owing to owing to prep. Because of; on account of: I couldn't attend, owing to illness. owing to prep → debido a, por causa de a rollback A DBMS feature that reverses the current transaction out of the database, returning the data to its former state. A rollback is performed when processing a transaction fails at some point, and it is necessary to start over. See two-phase commit. in the production of medium and heavy trucks. Within intermediate products, the output of construction supplies fell 0.6 percent further in April; output for that group is more than 4 percent below its level in April 2000. The production of materials receded 0.2 percent in April, with the losses concentrated in durables Durables A category of consumer goods, durables are products that do not have to be purchased frequently. Some examples of durables are appliances, home and office furnishings, lawn and garden equipment, consumer electronics, toy makers, small tool manufacturers, sporting goods, . The production of semiconductors and related electronic components fell further, as did the output of basic metals. In addition, the production of semiconductors and related electronic components in the first quarter was revised down significantly, leaving the April level about 6 percent below the December December: see month. level. The output of nondurable goods materials edged up 0.2 percent in April after a 2 percent decline in March. The production of both chemical and paper materials posted small gains, while the output of textiles textiles, all fabrics made by weaving, felting, knitting, braiding, or netting, from the various textile fibers (see fiber). Types of Textiles fell again. The production of energy materials was up 0.3 percent, as declines at electric and gas utilities were more than offset by gains in the coal and oil and gas extraction extraction /ex·trac·tion/ (eks-trak´shun) 1. the process or act of pulling or drawing out. 2. the preparation of an extract. industries. INDUSTRY GROUPS Manufacturing output fell 0.3 percent in April, the seventh consecutive monthly decline. Most of the losses were posted in the durable goods durable goods Goods, such as appliances and automobiles, that have a useful life over a number of periods. Firms that produce durable goods are often subject to wide fluctuations in sales and profits. Also called consumer durables. industries, most notably in high technology, other industrial machinery, and primary metals. The production of nondurable goods was unchanged; both the textile textile Any filament, fibre, or yarn that can be made into fabric or cloth, and the resulting material itself. The word originally referred only to woven fabrics but now includes knitted, bonded, felted, and tufted fabrics as well. mill products industry and the apparel industry made significant cutbacks in production, while the output of petroleum products jumped sharply. The factory operating rate Operating rate The percentage of total production capacity of a company, industry, or country that is being used. operating rate The portion of capacity at which a business operates. edged down further, to 77.1 percent. The utilization rate for primary-processing industries decreased slightly, to 77.1 percent, while the rate for advanced-processing industries edged down to 77.7 percent. Capacity utilization in high-technology industries (computers, communications equipment, and semiconductors) dropped for the ninth successive month, to 73.4 percent, a level more than 61/2 percentage points below its July July: see month. 2000 peak. The operating rate at utilities dipped dip v. dipped, dip·ping, dips v.tr. 1. To plunge briefly into a liquid, as in order to wet, coat, or saturate. 2. to 89.6 percent. The operating rate for mining increased for the fourth consecutive month, to 89.6 percent. NEW RELEASE FORMAT Beginning with the data for January January: see month. 2001, the capacity indexes have been revised. Although changes among most industries were offsetting, a significant downward revision to capacity growth at both semiconductor and computer manufacturers has led to a reduction in the overall estimate of capacity growth in 2001 from 3.5 percent to 2.7 percent. These series are available on the Federal Reserve Board's public web site (www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g17). |
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