Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization for March 2001.Released for publication April 17 Industrial production increased 0.4 percent in March, its first increase since September September: see month. . At 146.5 percent of its 1992 average, industrial production in March was 0.8 percent higher than in March 2000. Manufacturing output rose 0.3 percent after a 0.3 percent drop in February February: see month. ; excluding motor vehicles and parts, manufacturing output edged down 0.1 percent in March. Output at utilities increased 1.1 percent, and production in mining rose 0.8 percent. For the first quarter as a whole, total industrial production contracted at an annual rate of 4.7 percent--the biggest quarterly decline since the first quarter of 1991; the index edged down at a 0.9 percent rate in the fourth quarter of 2000. 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 moved up in March to 79.4 percent but remains at a level more than 2 1/2 percentage points below its 1967-2000 average. [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]
Industrial production and capacity utilization, March 2001
Industrial production, index, 1992 = 100
Category 2000 2001
Dec(r) Jan.(r) Feb.(r) Mar.(p)
Total 147.3 146.4 145.9 146.5
Previous estimate 147.7 146.8 146.0 ...
Major market groups
Products, total(2) 136.0 135.5 134.9 135.4
Consumer goods 123.1 122.1 122.0 122.3
Business equipment 199.2 198.2 196.2 197.9
Construction supplies 140.6 140.3 139.5 139.1
Materials 167.8 166.2 165.8 166.5
Major industry groups
Manufacturing 152.6 151.8 151.3 151.8
Durable 195.1 192.7 191.9 193.6
Nondurable 114.1 114.6 114.4 114.0
Mining 99.6 100.7 101.1 101.9
Utilities 129.1 124.4 121.8 123.1
Capacity utilization, percent
2000
Average Low, High
1967-00 1982 1988-89 Mar.
Total 82.1 71.1 85.4 82.2
Manufacturing 81.1 69.0 85.7 81.6
Advanced processing 80.6 71.0 84.2 79.6
Primary processing 82.2 65.7 88.3 85.9
Mining 87.4 80.3 88.0 86.1
Utilities 87.6 75.9 92.6 87.2
Industrial production, index, 1992 = 100
Percent change
Category
2000(1) 2001(1)
Dec.(r) Jan.(r) Feb.(r) Mar.(p)
Total -.6 -.6 -.4 .4
Previous estimate -.3 -.6 -.6 ...
Major market groups
Products, total(2) -.2 -.3 -.4 .4
Consumer goods .6 -.8 -.1 .3
Business equipment -.7 -.5 -1.0 .9
Construction supplies -.7 -.3 -.5 -.3
Materials -1.2 -1.0 -.2 .4
Major industry groups
Manufacturing -1.0 -.5 -.3 .3
Durable -.8 -1.2 -.4 .9
Nondurable -1.2 .4 -.1 -.4
Mining -1.5 1.1 .4 .8
Utilities 5.9 -3.6 -2.0 1.1
Capacity utilization, percent
2000 2001
Dec.(r) Jan.(r) Feb.(r) Mar.(p)
Total 80.6 79.9 79.3 79.4
Manufacturing 79.3 78.6 78.2 78.1
Advanced processing 79.0 78.9 78.4 78.5
Primary processing 80.9 79.3 78.8 78.6
Mining 86.1 87.1 87.5 88.4
Utilities 95.7 92.0 89.8 90.5
Industrial production, index, 1992= 100
Percent change
Category Mar. 2000
to
Mar. 2001
Total .8
Previous estimate ...
Major market groups
Products, total(2) .7
Consumer goods .1
Business equipment 4.8
Construction supplies -3.8
Materials 1.1
Major industry groups
Manufacturing .4
Durable 2.5
Nondurable -2.3
Mining 1.5
Utilities 7.3
MEMO
Capacity,
percent
change,
Mar. 2000
to
Mar. 2001
Total 4.4
Manufacturing 4.8
Advanced processing 2.5
Primary processing 8.4
Mining -1.1
Utilities 3.4
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 rose 0.3 percent in March; an increase of 2.4 percent in the production of 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. more than offset a decline in the production of nondurables. The output of automotive products rose 5.7 percent; nonetheless, because of the sharp cutbacks during the fourth quarter of 2000 and earlier this year, output in March remained 6.7 percent below its year-ago level. The output of home electronics rose 2.7 percent, but the production of other consumer durables decreased. Among consumer nondurables, the production of non-energy consumer goods declined 0.4 percent; declines in the output of paper products, foods and tobacco, and clothing were only partly offset by a gain in the production of consumer chemicals. The output of consumer energy products, which had fallen in the preceding two months, rose 0.6 percent and was boosted by an increase in utilities' sales to residences. The production of business equipment increased 0.9 percent in March after three months of declines. The output of 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 rebounded 4.5 percent because of gains in the production of autos, trucks, and commercial aircraft. 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. and related equipment posted a relatively small increase of 0.7 percent. After having risen 23.1 percent last year, this index slowed to a 6.1 percent pace in the first quarter. The production of industrial and other equipment fell 0.3 percent in March, with declines in the output of construction equipment, electrical distribution equipment, and special industry machinery. The production of construction supplies fell 0.3 percent further in March; for the first quarter, it dropped 5.1 percent at an annual rate, a decline close to that for the fourth quarter of last year. The output of materials was up 0.4 percent in March, the first gain since September. The output of 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. materials rose 0.5 percent, led by an increase of 2.6 percent in the output of parts for consumer goods. Equipment parts (including the production of semi-conductors and related electronic components) increased 0.5 percent in March and rose only 0.8 percent in the first quarter; output has decelerated steadily after having peaked at a 57.0 percent annual growth rate in the second quarter of last year. 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. goods materials slipped 0.2 percent in March, with declines in the production of textiles textiles, all fabrics made by weaving, felting, knitting, braiding, or netting, from the various textile fibers (see fiber). Types of Textiles , paper, and chemical materials. The production of energy materials was up 0.8 percent. INDUSTRY GROUPS Manufacturing output rose 0.3 percent in March, the first increase since September, because of gains in the production of durable goods; the production of nondurable goods slipped 0.4 percent. Among durable goods, the largest increases were in the production of motor vehicles and parts and aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment. For the quarter, however, durable goods production fell at an annual rate of 7.4 percent, the largest drop since the first quarter of 1991. In March, declines in the output of nondurables were fairly widespread. The only exceptions were small increases in apparel products and chemicals. 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, to 78.1 percent. 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 rate for primary-processing industries decreased slightly, to 78.6 percent, while the rate for advanced-processing industries edged up, to 78.5 percent. Capacity utilization in high-technology industries (computers, communications equipment, and semiconductors) dropped for the eighth successive month, to 77.3 percent, a level 12.7 percentage points below its July July: see month. 2000 peak. The operating rate at utilities rose to 90.5 percent. The operating rate for mining increased for the third consecutive month, to 88.4 percent. NEW RELEASE FORMAT Beginning with the February 16 issue, the G. 17 statistical release has been redesigned. Special aggregates have been added. Although some detailed industry data no longer appear in the regular release, these series continue to be available on the Federal Reserve Board's public web site (www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g17). |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion