Industrial production.Industrial Production Industrial production was unchanged in May after having increased a revised 0.6 percent in April. In May, further gains occurred in business equipment, excluding motor vehicles, and in materials. However, production of construction supplies declined for the fourth successive month, and output of both cars and trucks dropped back to about their March levels. At 141.4 percent of the 1977 average, the total index in May was 3.9 percent higher than it was a year earlier. Manufacturing output edged down in May; 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. in manufacturing declined 0.3 point to 84.0 percent. Detailed data for capacity utilization are shown separately in "Capacity Utilization," Federal Reserve monthly statistical release G.3. In market groups, 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 decreased in May as auto assemblies Founded in 2000 by Sven Harvey, Auto Assembly is a TransFormers event that is held in Birmingham, UK and run by the science-fiction fan organisation Infinite Frontiers. The first convention was held in October 2000 and has been held annually, except in 2002 and is again taking a fell to an annual rate of 7.1 million units, from 7.4 million units in April; output of light trucks for consumer use also declined. Production of other consumer goods edged down as output of consumer energy, particularly gasoline gasoline or petrol, light, volatile mixture of hydrocarbons for use in the internal-combustion engine and as an organic solvent, obtained primarily by fractional distillation and "cracking" of petroleum, but also obtained from natural gas, by and distillate dis·til·late n. A liquid condensed from vapor in distillation. distillate a product of distillation. fuel oil, fell sharply; the remaining sectors, on balance, were little changed. Output of business equipment excluding motor vehicles rose 0.5 percent in May, the same rate of growth as in April. Manufacturing and commercial equipment, as well as output of commercial aircraft, continued to post gains. Production of materials rose 0.2 percent in May after having risen sharply in April. Energy materials advanced again in May as extraction of crude oil increased. Non-durables rose again last month, reflecting further gains in chemicals and textiles. Durable materials were unchanged; a decline in parts for 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. , mainly motor vehicles, was offset by small gains in equipment parts and basic metals. In industry groups, within manufacturing, transportation equipment, refined petroleum products, and 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 declined significantly. In contrast, instruments, nonelectrical machinery, and chemicals posted gains. Outside manufacturing, production in mining rose, but output at utilities declined. |
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