Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization for May 1999.Released for publication June June: see month. 16 Industrial production rose 0.2 percent in May after gains of 0.4 percent in April and 0.7 percent in March. Manufacturing output advanced 0.4 percent in May, about matching the pace of the previous three months. Production at utilities fell sharply, and mining activity was little changed. At 134.1 percent of its 1992 average, industrial production in May was 1.7 percent higher than in May 1998; 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--at 80.5 percent--was off more than 2 percentage points from a year earlier. 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 , which had accelerated in March and April, edged up. The growth in the output of durable consumer goods decreased to a still-strong 0.8 percent rate. The deceleration deceleration /de·cel·er·a·tion/ (de-sel?er-a´shun) decrease in rate or speed. early deceleration primarily reflected a large drop in the production of appliances after a strong advance in April; other major categories posted output gains. In particular, the production of automotive products increased sharply for a second consecutive month. The production 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 edged down; a small increase in the production of non-energy goods was more than offset by a significant drop in the production of energy goods, mainly utility output for residential use. Among non-energy nondurable consumer goods, growth in the production of consumer chemicals, food, tobacco, and paper products was partially offset by a drop in the production of clothing. The output of business equipment inched up after an upward-revised advance of 0.9 percent in April. A substantial further rise in 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 and in the assembly of business vehicles was counterbalanced coun·ter·bal·ance n. 1. A force or influence equally counteracting another. 2. A weight that acts to balance another; a counterpoise or counterweight. tr.v. by lackluster lack·lus·ter adj. Lacking brightness, luster, or vitality; dull. See Synonyms at dull. Adj. 1. lackluster - lacking brilliance or vitality; "a dull lackluster life"; "a lusterless performance" activity in farm machinery and equipment, another cutback cut·back n. 1. A decrease; a curtailment: "The political effects of food cutbacks could be devastating" New York Times. 2. in the production of civilian aircraft, and a decline in the output of industrial equipment. The production of construction supplies receded 0.2 percent but, on balance, has remained little changed from its high level earlier in the year: Over the past twelve months, output in this sector has increased 4.4 percent. The index for business supplies declined 0.3 percent after having increased substantially in March and April. The output of materials increased 0.5 percent. Among producers 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, the output of semiconductors and computer parts continued to gain appreciably ap·pre·cia·ble adj. Possible to estimate, measure, or perceive: appreciable changes in temperature. See Synonyms at perceptible. . The production of nondurable goods materials remained sluggish and was about 1 percent below the level of May 1998; the production of energy materials dropped. INDUSTRY GROUPS Production in manufacturing increased 0.4 percent. 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. inched up, to 79.7 percent, but was down from its May 1998 level of 81.6 percent. Durable goods production rose 0.6 percent-about the same pace as in the previous two months. In particular, the output of electrical machinery grew noticeably--albeit at a slower rate than in April--boosted by robust increases in the output of communications equipment and semiconductors. The production of motor vehicles and parts and of computers increased more than 2 percent. Excluding computers, the production of industrial machinery declined more than 1 percent. The production of fabricated fab·ri·cate tr.v. fab·ri·cat·ed, fab·ri·cat·ing, fab·ri·cates 1. To make; create. 2. To construct by combining or assembling diverse, typically standardized parts: metals also retreated re·treat n. 1. a. The act or process of withdrawing, especially from something hazardous, formidable, or unpleasant. b. The process of going backward or receding from a position or condition gained. 2. in May, but the output of iron and steel rebounded. With gains in production matching gains in productive capacity, the rate of capacity utilization in durable manufacturing remained unchanged at 79.5 percent, a level identical to its 1967-98 average. The output of nondurable manufactured goods manufactured goods npl → manufacturas fpl; bienes mpl manufacturados manufactured goods npl → produits manufacturés advanced 0.2 percent; production has been advancing slowly since last autumn and has increased about 1 percent over the past four months. Furthermore, most major industries posted gains in May. The only major industries registering declines were 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. and apparel products, both of which had posted substantial increases in April. The operating rate in nondurable manufacturing edged up 0.1 percentage point, to 80.4 percent: 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 for these industries was more than 2 percentage points below its level of May 1998 and was 3 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. Mining production inched up. Reductions in the output of coal and stone and earth minerals partly offset advances in drilling for oil and gas wells and in metal mining. The rate of capacity utilization in mining stayed at 80.7 percent in May, down from 87.9 percent twelve months earlier. Most of the drop in capacity utilization over the past year reflects severe weakness in oil and gas drilling activity that has persisted throughout the period. Output at utilities, which had rebounded 4.9 percent in March and posted a small increase in April, fell 2.2 percent, with declines in both gas and electric utilities. The operating rate at electric utilities remained above its historic average, while utilization at gas utilities was about 7 percentage points below the 1967-98 average. NOTICE This release contains revised estimates Revised estimate The third estimate of GDP released about three months after the measurement period. of capacity and capacity utilization for selected industries beginning with the data for January January: see month. 1999. With the revision, the estimated growth of aggregate capacity between the fourth quarter of 1998 and the fourth quarter of 1999 increased 0.2 percentage point, to about 3 3/4 percent. In addition, beginning with the data for February February: see month. 1999, the industrial production indexes were revised to reflect the semiannual Semiannual An event that occurs twice in a calendar year. Notes: A bond with semiannual coupons would issue payment once every six months. See also: Annual, Bond, Coupon Bond revision to seasonal factors for motor vehicle assemblies and for series that use production-worker hours as their monthly indicator. Industrial production and capacity utilization, May 1999
Industrial production, index, 1992 = 100
Category 1999
Feb.(r) Mar.(r) Apr.(r) May(p)
Total 132.5 133.3 133.8 134.1
Previous estimate 132.5 133.2 134.0 ...
Major market groups
Products, total(2) 124.6 125.3 125.7 125.8
Consumer goods 115.3 115.6 115.9 116.1
Business equipment 167.6 168.5 169.9 170.1
Construction supplies 132.7 132.1 132.5 132.2
Materials 145.3 146.5 147.1 147.8
Major industry groups
Manufacturing 136.9 137.5 138.1 138.6
Durable 161.7 162.9 164.0 164.9
Nondurable 111.9 112.0 112.0 112.2
Mining 98.9 98.3 97.7 97.8
Utilities 111.3 116.8 117.2 114.6
Percentage change
Category 1999(1)
Feb.(r) Mar.(r) Apr.(r) May(p)
Total .1 .7 .4 .2
Previous estimate .1 .5 .6 ...
Major market groups
Products, total(2) .1 .5 .4 .0
Consumer goods .1 .2 .3 .1
Business equipment .2 .5 .9 .1
Construction supplies .2 -.4 .3 -.2
Materials .2 .9 .4 .5
Major industry groups
Manufacturing .3 .4 .4 .4
Durable .2 .7 .7 .6
Nondurable .5 .1 .1 .2
Mining .4 .6 -.6 .1
Utilities -3.0 4.9 .3 -2.2
May 1998
Category to
May 1999
Total 1.7
Previous estimate ...
Major market groups
Products, total(2) 1.0
Consumer goods -.6
Business equipment 4.3
Construction supplies 4.4
Materials 2.9
Major industry groups
Manufacturing 2.4
Durable 4.9
Nondurable -.7
Mining -7.2
Utilities -.5
Capacity utilization, percent
Category Average, Low, High, 1998
1967-981 1982 1988-89
May
Total 82.1 71.1 85.4 82.6
Previous estimate ... ... ... ...
Manufacturing 81.1 69.0 85.7 81.6
Advanced processing 80.5 70.4 84.2 80.7
Primary processing 82.4 66.2 88.9 84.3
Mining 87.5 80.3 88.0 87.9
Utilities 87.4 75.9 92.6 91.3
Capacity utilization, percent
Category 1999
Feb.(r) Mar.(r) Apr.(r) May(p)
Total 80.2 80.5 80.5 80.5
Previous estimate 80.2 80.4 80.6 ...
Manufacturing 79.5 79.5 79.6 79.7
Advanced processing 78.4 78.5 78.6 78.7
Primary processing 82.7 82.7 82.7 82.7
Mining 81.8 81.2 80.7 80.7
Utilities 87.7 92.0 92.2 90.1
MEMO
Capacity
per-
change,
Category May 1998
to
May 1999
Total 4.4
Previous estimate ...
Manufacturing 4.9
Advanced processing 5.9
Primary processing 2.5
Mining 1.1
Utilities 0.7
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.3 |
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