Industrial production rises
Industrial production increased 0.9 percent in January following a gain of 0.7 percent in December.
This marks the seventh monthly increase for the manufacturing sector, which appears to be leading the nation's economic recovery.
Manufacturing production rose 1.0 percent in January, with increases for most of its major components, while the indexes for both utilities and mining advanced 0.7 percent. At 101.1 percent of its 2002 average, output in January was 0.9 percent above its year-earlier level. The capacity utilization rate for total industry rose 0.7 percentage point to 72.6 percent, a rate 8.0 percentage points below its average from 1972 to 2009.
In January, manufacturing output rose 1.0 percent after having slipped 0.1 percent in December; the level of output in January was 1.7 percent above its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization for manufacturing was 69.2 percent, a rate 4.1 percentage points above the trough in June 2009 but 10.0 percentage points below its average for the period from 1972 to 2009.
The output of durable goods moved up 1.4 percent in January. Among its major components, gains of 2.0 percent or more were recorded for motor vehicles and parts; wood products; electrical equipment, appliances, and components; and nonmetallic mineral products. Output for all of the other major durable goods industries increased, with the exception of furniture and related products, which decreased 1.2 percent.
Nondurable manufacturing rose 0.7 percent in January, after having edged down in December, and was 3.6 percent above its year-earlier level. Gains were recorded for most major components, with particularly large increases for food, beverage, and tobacco products and for apparel and leather products. The output of petroleum and coal products decreased 2.2 percent, and the output of printing and support moved down 0.8 percent. The index for non-NAICS manufacturing industries (publishing and logging) was unchanged.
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INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The May/June issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about GHX Industrial. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dr. Bharani Nagarathnam and Frank Hurtte, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
