Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization for November 1999.Released for publication December December: see month. 15 Industrial production advanced 0.3 percent in November November: see month. after a 0.8 percent increase in October October: see month. . At 139.5 percent of its 1992 average, industrial production in November was 4.3 percent higher than in November 1998. 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 was unchanged at 81.0 percent, a level 1 percentage point below its 1967-98 average. 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 ticked up 0.1 percent in November after having risen 1.6 percent in October. The production of durable consumer goods fell 0.3 percent, pulled down by a drop in home appliances and televisions. After having advanced nearly 1 1/2 percent in October, 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. non-energy consumer goods rose 3/4 percent, led by increases in food, tobacco, and consumer chemical production. A 3.6 percent decline in the output of energy products reflected an unusually warm November as well as disruptions at a couple of petroleum refineries. The production of business equipment increased for a second month; gains in 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 other equipment offset decreases in industrial and transit equipment. Within the information processing group, the output of computers increased 2.1 percent, a step down from the high rates of growth seen recently. Within the "other equipment" category, farm machinery posted a large increase after having fallen much more sharply during the past spring and summer. The output of transit equipment was once again constrained con·strain tr.v. con·strained, con·strain·ing, con·strains 1. To compel by physical, moral, or circumstantial force; oblige: felt constrained to object. See Synonyms at force. 2. by a drop in the production of commercial aircraft and parts. The production of construction supplies rose 3/4 percent for the third month in a row, to a level 4 1/2 percent higher than in November 1998. The output of materials increased 0.6 percent, a rise similar to the gains posted in the previous two months. Sizable siz·a·ble also size·a·ble adj. Of considerable size; fairly large. siz  a·ble·ness n. increases in the
production of steel and semiconductors (the output of which has
accelerated in the past two months) lifted the production of durable
goods durable goodsGoods, 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 1.2 percent in November. The output of nondurable goods materials, which had jumped nearly 1 percent in October, edged up 0.1 percent. INDUSTRY GROUPS Manufacturing output rose 1/2 percent in November after a 3/4 percent gain in October. The increase in the output of 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, was led by gains at makers of primary metals (particularly iron and steel), motor vehicles and parts, computers, semiconductors, and communications equipment. While most other durable goods industries recorded increases, the output of commercial aircraft and construction machinery declined noticeably no·tice·a·ble adj. 1. Evident; observable: noticeable changes in temperature; a noticeable lack of friendliness. 2. Worthy of notice; significant. . The ongoing contraction contraction, in physics contraction, in physics: see expansion. contraction, in grammar contraction, in writing: see abbreviation. contraction - reduction in the production of commercial aircraft reduced the output of aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment in November to a level about 13 percent below that of November 1998. Production in nondurable manufacturing increased for a fourth month after earlier weakness; the level of production for nondurable manufacturing is 1.4 percent higher than a year earlier. Among nondurables, food production increased nearly 1 percent for a second month, as did chemicals and products. Losses were posted by the petroleum products, 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. , apparel, and printing and publishing industries. 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 up 0.1 percentage point, to 80.1 percent, the highest level since November 1998. 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 durable manufacturing was a bit above its 1967-98 average, while the rate for nondurable manufacturing industries manufacturing industries npl → industrias fpl manufactureras manufacturing industries npl → industries fpl de transformation was well below its average. The output at utilities fell 21/4 percent in November; mine production, which was boosted by an increase in oil and gas well drilling Well drilling is the process of drilling a hole in the ground for the extraction of a natural resource such as ground water, natural gas, or petroleum. Drilling for the exploration of the nature of the material underground (for instance in search of metallic ore) is best described , increased for the second straight month. REVISION OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION On November 30, 1999, the Federal Reserve Board published a revision to the index of industrial production (IP) and the related measures of capacity and capacity utilization for the period from January January: see month. 1992 to October 1999. The updated measures reflect both the incorporation of newly available, more comprehensive source data typical of annual revisions and, for some series, the introduction of improved methods for compiling com·pile tr.v. com·piled, com·pil·ing, com·piles 1. To gather into a single book. 2. To put together or compose from materials gathered from several sources: the series. The new source data are for recent years, primarily 1997 and 1998, and the modified methods affect data from 1992 onward on·ward adj. Moving or tending forward. adv. also on·wards In a direction or toward a position that is ahead in space or time; forward. . In addition, the supplementary series on the gross value of products leaving the industrial sector are now expressed in 1996 dollars; these series begin in 1977. The updated IP measures include some annual data from the Census Bureau's 1997 Census of Manufactures and from selected editions of its 1998 Current Industrial Reports. Annual data from the U.S. Geological Survey The term geological survey can be used to describe both the conduct of a survey for geological purposes and an institution holding geological information. A geological survey on metallic and nonmetallic non·me·tal·lic adj. 1. Not metallic. 2. Chemistry Of, relating to, or being a nonmetal. Adj. 1. minerals (except fuels) for 1997 and 1998 are also introduced. The updating includes revisions to the monthly indicator for each industry (either physical product data, production worker hours, or electric power usage) and revised seasonal factors. The revision introduced improved measures of production for computers and office equipment (SIC 357) and motor vehicles (SIC 3711, 3). The new monthly measure for computers is derived from detailed information on the major products produced by the industry. For example, from 1994 to 1998, quarterly data on the physical quantity and average unit values of about 1,100 distinct models of personal computers, notebooks, servers, and workstations are used to construct the new IP index for computers; previously, monthly electric power use by the industry was used as the within-year indicator of production. The new measures of motor vehicle production incorporate price weights for the different models of light vehicles; previously, all autos and light trucks were weighted equally in compiling an aggregate figure. In addition, the monthly production indicators for bolts and fasteners fasteners In construction, connectors between structural members. Bolted connections are used when it is necessary to fasten two elements tightly together, especially to resist shear and bending, as in column and beam connections. (SIC 345) and for metalworking machinery (SIC 354) were changed from electric power use to production worker hours. Capacity and capacity utilization rates Capacity utilization rate The percentage of the economy's total plant and equipment that is currently in production. Usually, a decrease in this percentage signals an economic slowdown, while an increase signals economic expansion. have been revised to incorporate preliminary data from the Census Bureau's 1998 Survey of Plant Capacity, which covers manufacturing, along with other new data on capacity from the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Energy, and other organizations. The revision is available on the Board's web site, at www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g 17, and on diskettes from Publications Services (telephone 202-4523245). The revised data are also available through the STAT-USA web site of the Department of Commerce (www.stat-usa.gov See .gov and GovNet. (networking) gov - The top-level domain for US government bodies. ). Further information on these revisions is available from the Board's Industrial Output Section (telephone 202-452-3197).
Industrial production and capacity utilization, November 1999
Industrial production, index, 1992 = 100
1999
Category
Aug.(r) Sept.(r) Oct.(r)
Total 137.7 138.0 139.1
Previous estimate 137.6 137.6 138.5
Major market groups
Products, total(2) 127.6 127.5 128.8
Consumer goods 117.6 116.9 118.8
Business equipment 173.9 173.8 174.9
Construction supplies 132.9 134.0 135.0
Materials 154.6 155.6 156.3
Major industry groups
Manufacturing 142.5 142.9 144.0
Durable 174.4 174.9 176.1
Nondurable 111.5 111.8 112.8
Mining 98.5 98.4 99.2
Utilities 117.8 116.9 119.2
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
Industrial production, index, 1992 = 100
1999 Percent change
Category 1991(1)
Nov.(p) Aug.(r) Sept.(r)
Total 139.5 .3 .2
Previous estimate .2 .0
Major market groups
Products, total(2) 129.0 .6 -.1
Consumer goods 118.9 .7 -.6
Business equipment 175.4 .7 -.1
Construction supplies 136.0 -.2 .8
Materials 157.3 -.3 .7
Major industry groups
Manufacturing 144.6 .4 .3
Durable 177.0 .3 .3
Nondurable 113.2 .4 .2
Mining 99.9 .8 -.1
Utilities 116.4 -1.7 -.8
Capacity utilization, percent
1998 1999
Nov. Aug.(r) Sept.(r)
Total 80.9 80.7 80.6
Previous estimate 80.6 80.4
Manufacturing 80.2 79.7 79.7
Advanced processing 79.4 78.8 78.7
Primary processing 82.6 82.8 82.8
Mining 84.2 81.9 81.9
Utilities 87.6 92.2 91.4
Industrial production, index, 1992 = 100
Percentage change
Nov. 1998
Category 1991(1) to
Oct.(r) Nov.(p) Nov. 1999
Total .8 .3 4.3
Previous estimate .6
Major market groups
Products, total(2) 1.1 .1 3.1
Consumer goods 1.6 .1 2.8
Business equipment .6 .3 5.0
Construction supplies .8 .7 4.4
Materials .5 .6 6.3
Major industry groups
Manufacturing .8 .5 4.6
Durable .7 .6 7.0
Nondurable .9 .3 1.4
Mining .8 .7 -1.5
Utilities 1.9 -2.3 5.0
MEMO
Capacity,
per-
Capacity utilization, percent centage
change,
1999 Nov. 1998
to
Oct.(r) Nov.(p) Nov. 1999
Total 81.0 81.0 4.2
Previous estimate 80.7
Manufacturing 80.0 80.1 4.7
Advanced processing 79.1 79.1 5.6
Primary processing 83.0 83.3 2.4
Mining 82.6 83.2 0.2
Utilities 93.0 90.8 1.4
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. Industrial production and capacity utilization [MAP OMITTED] |
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