Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization for November 2000.Released for publication December December: see month. 15 Industrial production fell 0.2 percent in November November: see month. . Manufacturing output dropped 0.5 percent, with declines in many industries. Output at utilities surged 3.6 percent in response to unseasonably cool weather, and production in mining edged up 0.1 percent. At 148.6 percent of its 1992 average, industrial production was 4.7 percent higher than in November 1999. 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 to 81.6 percent in November, a level 1/2 percentage point below its 1967-99 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 fallen 0.9 percent in October October: see month. . The production of durable consumer goods decreased for a second month and was again pulled down by a drop in the assembly rate of autos and light trucks. The output of 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. , which 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. 0.3 percent in November, was held down by a decline in carpeting and furniture. 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, which gained 0.4 percent, was buoyed by a strong gain in energy products, especially utilities. Excluding energy, the output of nondurables fell 0.3 percent. Decreases in the production of paper products, food and tobacco, and clothing outweighed a gain in the output of consumer chemicals. The output of business equipment was flat after having shown little change in October; in the three months preceding October, the gains averaged about 1 percent. The output of computer and office equipment grew 2.0 percent in November, a pace below that of the preceding six months. The 0.9 percent drop in the production of industrial equipment more than erased e·rase tr.v. e·rased, e·ras·ing, e·ras·es 1. a. To remove (something written, for example) by rubbing, wiping, or scraping. b. October's gain. In contrast, the production of transit equipment climbed 0.6 percent; the gain was led by increases in commercial aircraft and medium and heavy trucks. Production in the other business equipment group fell 3.1 percent. The output of defense and space equipment grew 2.3 percent as two strikes that had held down output came to an end. The production of construction supplies, which has been softening softening /sof·ten·ing/ (sof´en-ing) malacia. softening a change of consistency, with loss of firmness or hardness. in recent months, declined another 1 percent in November. The output of materials fell 1/2 percent, pulled down by declines 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, and nondurables. Within durable materials, consumer parts was hit by a substantial decline in original equipment parts for motor vehicles. Although the output of semiconductors, printed circuit boards, and other electronic components increased 1.1 percent for a second month, the move was a sharp step-down from the 5.8 percent average monthly rate in the first three quarters of the year. The drop of 0.9 percent in the output of nondurable goods materials offset the gain in October and reflected losses in many of the sector's constituent CONSTITUENT. He who gives authority to another to act for him. 1 Bouv. Inst. n. 893. 2. The constituent is bound with whatever his attorney does by virtue of his authority. categories. INDUSTRY GROUPS Manufacturing output dropped 0.5 percent in November, with decreases spread about evenly across both durable and nondurable goods industries. Among 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. , the losses were widespread, with the largest declines in primary metals, lumber lumber, term for timber that has been cut into boards for use as a building material. The major steps in producing lumber involve logging (the felling and preparation of timber for shipment to sawmills), sawing the logs into boards, grading the boards according to and products, and stone, clay, and glass industries. After being nearly flat for the year, the output of nondurables fell 0.6 percent; production is now 0.3 percent below its November 1999 level. 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. declined to 80.6 percent, and easing occurred within many industries. The operating rate at electric utilities rose to 95.7 percent, 6.1 percentage points above its 1967-99 average; capacity utilization at gas utilities also increased, to 84.3 percent, a level 2.3 percentage points above 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. The operating rate for mining was 86.5 percent, a reading little changed since June June: see month. . REVISION OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION On December 5, the Federal Reserve Board published revisions to the index of industrial production (IP), to the related measures of capacity and capacity utilization, and to the index of industrial use of electric power. 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 compilation Compiling a program. See compiler. methods. The revision also included a refinement of the method used to aggregate the individual series in the production and capacity indexes. The new source data are for recent years, primarily 1997 through 1999, and the modified mod·i·fy v. mod·i·fied, mod·i·fy·ing, mod·i·fies v.tr. 1. To change in form or character; alter. 2. methods affected 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. . The updating of source data for IP included annual data from the following reports of the Bureau of the Census Noun 1. Bureau of the Census - the bureau of the Commerce Department responsible for taking the census; provides demographic information and analyses about the population of the United States Census Bureau : the 1997 Census census, periodic official count of the number of persons and their condition and of the resources of a country. In ancient times, among the Jews and Romans, such enumeration was mainly for taxation and conscription purposes. of Manufactures, the 1998 Annual Survey of Manufactures, and selected editions of its 1998 and 1999 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 regarding 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 1998 and 1999 also were introduced. The updating included 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 to capacity and capacity utilization incorporated preliminary data from the 1999 Survey of Plant Capacity of the Bureau of the Census, which covers manufacturing, along with other new data on capacity from the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Energy, and other organizations. The statistics on the industrial use of electric power incorporated additional information received from utilities for the past few years as well as data from the 1997 Census of Manufactures and 1998 Annual Survey of Manufactures. Aggregate IP indexes are built as annually weighted chain-type indexes, beginning with data for 1977. Previously, the weights changed at the middle of every year; with the revision, the weights change every month beginning with data for 1992. The revision is available on the Board's web site (www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g17). The revised data are also available through the web site of the Department of Commerce. Further information on these revisions is available from the Board's Industrial Output Section (telephone 202-452-3197). The G.17 statistical release will be redesigned in January January: see month. 2001. Special aggregates will be added; some detailed industry data will no longer be listed in the regular release but will be available on the Federal Reserve Board's public web site, along with a template (1) A pre-designed document or data file formatted for common purposes such as a fax, invoice or business letter. If the document contains an automated process, such as a word processing macro or spreadsheet formula, then the programming is already written and embedded in the of the redesigned tables. [Graphs omitted]
Industrial production and capacity utilization, November 2000
Industrial production, index,
1992=100
Category 2000
Aug.(r) Sept.(r) Oct.(r)
Total 148.6 149.1 148.9
Previous estimate 148.6 149.0 148.8
Major market groups
Products, total(2) 136.6 136.9 136.4
Consumer goods 123.8 124.1 123.0
Business equipment 197.8 198.9 199.2
Construction supplies 142.7 143.2 143.0
Materials 170.5 171.5 171.7
Major industry groups
Manufacturing 154.6 155.2 155.1
Durable 196.9 198.3 197.7
Nondurable 116.3 116.2 116.6
Mining 101.0 100.3 100.2
Utilities 122.1 123.4 120.9
Capacity utilization, percent
Average, Low, High,
1967-99 1982 1988-89
Total 82.0 71.1 85.4
Previous estimate ... ... ...
Manufacturing 81.1 69.0 85.7
Advanced processing 80.5 70.4 84.2
Primary processing 82.5 66.2 88.9
Mining 87.4 80.3 88.0
Utilities 87.5 75.9 92.6
Industrial production, index,
1992=100
Percent change
Category
2000 2000(1)
Nov.(p) Aug.(r) Sept.(r)
Total 148.6 .7 .3
Previous estimate ... .7 .2
Major market groups
Products, total(2) 136.4 .6 .2
Consumer goods 123.2 .7 .3
Business equipment 199.1 1.4 .6
Construction supplies 141.6 -.8 .4
Materials 170.8 .9 .6
Major industry groups
Manufacturing 154.4 .6 .4
Durable 196.9 1.1 .7
Nondurable 115.9 .0 -.1
Mining 100.3 .6 -.8
Utilities 125.3 2.5 1.0
Capacity utilization, percent
1999 2000
Nov. Aug.(r) Sept.(r)
Total 81.5 82.6 82.5
Previous estimate ... 82.5 82.4
Manufacturing 80.9 81.7 81.7
Advanced processing 79.7 81.7 81.6
Primary processing 84.8 82.9 83.0
Mining 85.1 86.9 86.3
Utilities 87.2 91.5 92.2
Industrial production, index,
1992=100
Percent change
Category
2000(1) Nov. 1999
to
Oct.(r) Nov.(p) Nov. 2000
Total -.1 -.2 4.7
Previous estimate -.1 ... ...
Major market groups
Products, total(2) -.3 -.1 3.5
Consumer goods -.9 .1 1.4
Business equipment .1 .0 10.7
Construction supplies -.2 -1.0 .8
Materials .1 -.5 6.8
Major industry groups
Manufacturing .0 -.5 4.6
Durable -.3 -.4 8.8
Nondurable .3 -.6 -.3
Mining .0 .1 .9
Utilities -2.0 3.6 10.4
Capacity
utilization,
percent
MEMO
Capacity,
percent
2000 change,
Nov. 1999
to
Oct.(r) Nov.(p) Nov. 2000
Total 82.1 81.6 4.6
Previous estimate 82.0 ... ...
Manufacturing 81.4 80.6 5.0
Advanced processing 81.2 80.6 6.6
Primary processing 82.9 81.8 1.6
Mining 86.3 86.5 -.8
Utilities 90.2 93.2 3.3
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.
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