Fed: May industrial production up 0.9%
Industrial production rose 0.9% in May, the Fed reported. Manufacturing output posted a similar gain of 0.9% after declining in the previous two months.
The index for mining increased 0.3% in May, and the index for utilities advanced 1.6%. At 103.3% of its 2017 average, total industrial production in May was 0.4% higher than its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization moved up to 78.7% in May, a rate that is 0.9 percentage point below its long-run (1972–2023) average.
Market Groups
Gains were widespread across the major market groups in May. The index for consumer goods rose 1.3% with increases in all its components except for home electronics. Business equipment posted a small gain of 0.2% as a decrease in the transit component was outweighed by gains in the information processing component and in the industrial and other component.
The index for defense and space equipment rose 1.0% and was nearly 10% above its year-earlier level. In May, the materials market group posted a gain of 0.8 percent, as the indexes for non-energy durables and non-energy nondurables each recorded increases of around 1%; energy materials rose 0.6%.
Industry Groups
Manufacturing output increased 0.9% in May and was 0.1% above its year-earlier level. In May, the index for durable manufacturing rose 0.6%, the index for nondurable manufacturing jumped 1.1%, and the index for other manufacturing (publishing and logging) moved up 0.2%.
Most industry groups within durable manufacturing posted gains in May. The largest increases were in the indexes for wood products, for machinery, and for computer and electronic products, which rose 2.6%, 2.3%, and 0.8%, respectively. Mining output increased 0.3 percent in May after declining in the previous two months. Within mining, an increase in the index for oil and gas extraction in May was partly offset by declines in the indexes for other mining and for support activities. The output of utilities advanced 1.6% and was 3.9% above its year-earlier level.
Capacity utilization for manufacturing moved up in May to 77.1%, a rate that is 1.1 percentage points below its long-run average. The operating rate for mining inched up 0.2 percentage point to 92.7%, while the operating rate for utilities increased 0.9 percentage point to 71.5%. The rate for mining was 6.2 percentage points above its long-run average, while the rate for utilities remained substantially below its long-run average.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The November/December issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about Kimball Midwest. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dirk Beveridge, Frank Hurtte, and Mike Marks, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
