Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization for March 1999.Released for publication April 16 Industrial production edged up 0.1 percent in March; revisions ReVisions is a 2004 anthology of alternate history short-stories. It is edited by Julie E. Czerneda and Isaac Szpindel. Contents Title Author The Resonance of Light James Alan Gardner Out of China Julie E. to earlier months left the level of the February February: see month. index little changed from that previously reported. In manufacturing, production remained unchanged in March and was just a bit above its December December: see month. level. The output of mines decreased 0.7 percent, a decrease that reversed the February gain. The output of utilities increased 1.9 percent in March and has picked up noticeably no·tice·a·ble adj. 1. Evident; observable: noticeable changes in temperature; a noticeable lack of friendliness. 2. Worthy of notice; significant. , on balance, since last fall. At 132.8 percent of its 1992 average, total industrial production in March was 1.6 percent higher than it was in March 1998. For the first quarter as a whole, total industrial production increased at an annual rate of just 0.7 percent, down noticeably from the 2 1/4 percent gain in the fourth quarter. Overall 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. slipped in March to 80.1 percent, a level 2 percentage points below its long-term Long-term Three or more years. In the context of accounting, more than 1 year. long-term 1. Of or relating to a gain or loss in the value of a security that has been held over a specific length of time. Compare short-term. average and 2 1/2 percentage points below its March 1998 level. MARKET GROUPS The production 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 was flat in March, as a rebound rebound (rē´bownd), n/v 1. a recovery from illness. n 2. an outbreak of fresh reflex activity after withdrawal of a stimulus rebound adjective in the production of energy goods was offset by declines in other categories. The 1/2 percent decline in the production of durable consumer goods was mainly caused by reductions in the output of automotive products and household appliances from the elevated levels reached earlier this year. The production of non-energy, 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 was generally weak in March. A notable exception was the production of consumer chemicals, which increased for the second consecutive month after having declined, on balance, since the second quarter of 1998. The output of business equipment decreased 0.2 percent in March and was 0.6 percent below its December level. Most of the recent declines in this market group have been concentrated in the production of industrial and transit transit, in astronomy, passage of a body across a meridian or passage of a small body across the visible disk of a larger one. (The passage of a large body across a smaller one is called an eclipse or occultation. equipment, which decreased again in March. In addition, the production 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 has risen more slowly in the first quarter after having expanded very rapidly in the fourth quarter of last year. The production of construction supplies, which had increased sharply between the end of 1997 and January January: see month. 1999, declined for a second month in March as the seasonal pickup Pickup A gain in yield made by selling one bond and buying another. Also referred to as "yield pickup." Notes: When the present yield is relatively low compared to the longer-term yields, pickups will be done by investors trying to increase the yield and duration of their in output was less than normal. The output of materials increased 0.3 percent mostly because of another large increase in semiconductors and computer parts. Although the production of basic metals edged up, it remained about 6 percent lower than in March 1998. The output of nondurable materials edged down in March, largely because of a decline in 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. materials. Nonetheless, the output of nondurable materials has firmed since December mainly because of a pickup in the production of paper. The production of energy materials declined and has been weak, on balance, since last fall. INDUSTRY GROUPS 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. production edged up 0.1 percent in March: Increases in furniture and fixtures, metals, computer and office equipment, semiconductors, instruments, and miscellaneous manufactures were largely offset by declines in other durable goods industries. In particular, the output of transportation equipment decreased after having posted an increase in February, while the production of several types of industrial machinery continued to weaken. Nondurable goods production edged down 0.1 percent and was roughly unchanged from its December level. Increases in the production of tobacco, paper, chemicals, and rubber and plastic products were more than offset by declines in other industries; the largest losses occurred in textiles textiles, all fabrics made by weaving, felting, knitting, braiding, or netting, from the various textile fibers (see fiber). Types of Textiles , apparel, and leather products, which were significantly below their March 1998 levels. The 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. in manufacturing declined to 79.3 percent--2 1/4 percentage points below its level a year earlier. The utilization utilization, n 1. the extent to which a given group uses a particular service in a specified period. Although usually expressed as the number of services used per year per 100 or per 1000 persons eligible for the service, utilization rates may be rates for both advanced-and primary-processing industries decreased 0.2 percentage point. The utilization rate for mines declined 0.6 percentage point and remained well below its long-term average. The rebound in the output of utilities pushed the utilization rate up 1 3/4 percentage points, to 90.9 percent, 3 1/2 percentage points above its long-term average.
Industrial production and capacity utilization, March 1999
Industrial production, index, 1992=100
Category 1998 1999
Dec.(r) Jan.(r) Feb.(r)
Total 132.3 132.3 132.6
Previous estimate 132.4 132.4 132.6
Major market groups
Products, total(2) 124.4 124.5 124.6
Consumer goods 114.9 115.1 115.2
Business equipment 167.9 167.1 167.2
Construction supplies 131.0 132.5 131.8
Materials 145.2 144.9 145.6
Major industry groups
Manufacturing 136.7 136.5 137.0
Durable 161.5 161.5 161.9
Nondurable 111.7 111.4 111.9
Mining 99.0 97.4 98.0
Utilities 111.8 114.0 113.2
Industrial production, index, 1992=100
Category
1999 1998(1) 1999(1)
Mar.(p) Dec.(r) Jan.(r)
Total 132.8 0.1 -.1
Previous estimate ... .2 .0
Major market groups
Products, total(2) 124.6 .0 .0
Consumer goods 115.2 .1 .2
Business equipment 166.9 -.1 .5
Construction supplies 131.0 1.1 1.2
Materials 146.1 .4 .2
Major industry groups
Manufacturing 137.0 .2 -.1
Durable 162.0 .3 .0
Nondurable 111.8 .1 .3
Mining 97.3 -2.1 -1.6
Utilities 115.4 1.1 2.0
Industrial production, index, 1992=100
Percentage change
Category
1999(1) Mar. 1998
to
Feb.(r) Mar.(p) Mar. 1999
Total 0.3 0.1 1.6
Previous estimate 0.2 ... ...
Major market groups
Products, total(2) .1 .0 1.1
Consumer goods .1 .0 -.5
Business equipment .1 .2 4.2
Construction supplies .5 .6 5.1
Materials .5 .3 2.4
Major industry groups
Manufacturing .3 .0 2.2
Durable .2 .1 4.4
Nondurable .4 .1 -.5
Mining .7 -8.0
Utilities .7 1.9 1.3
Capacity utilization, percent
Average, Low, High,
1967-98 1982 1988-89
Total 82.1 71.1 85.4
Previous estimate ... ... ...
Manufacturing 81.1 69.0 85.7
Advanced processing 80.5 70.4 84.2
Primary processing 82.4 66.2 88.9
Mining 87.5 80.3 88.0
Utilities 87.4 75.9 92.6
Capacity utilization, percent
1998 1998 1999
Mar. Dec.(r) Jan.(r)
Total 82.6 80.7 80.3
Previous estimate ... 80.7 80.4
Manufacturing 81.6 80.0 79.6
Advanced processing 80.6 79.0 78.3
Primary processing 84.4 82.9 83.1
Mining 88.4 82.0 80.6
Utilities 90.5 88.2 89.9
MEMO
Capacity utilization Capacity,
percent per-
centage
1999 change,
Mar. 1998
to
Feb.(r) Mar.(p) Mar. 1999
Total 80.3 80.1 4.7
Previous estimate 80.3 ... ...
Manufacturing 79.5 79.3 5.2
Advanced processing 78.4 78.2 6.2
Primary processing 82.8 82.6 2.7
Mining 81.0 80.4 1.1
Utilities 89.2 90.9 0.8
NOTE. Data seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted Mathematically adjusted by moderating a macroeconomic indicator (e.g., oil prices/imports) so that relative comparisons can be drawn from month to month all year. or calculated from seasonally adjusted monthly data. (1.) Change from preceding month. (2.) Contains components in addition to those shown. (r) Revised. (p) Preliminary. [GRAPHS This partial list of graphs contains definitions of graphs and graph families which are known by particular names, but do not have a Wikipedia article of their own. For collected definitions of graph theory terms that do not refer to individual graph types, such as OMITTED]3 |
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