Industrial production up 0.4 percent
Industrial production increased 0.4 percent in June after having declined 0.2 percent in May.
In the manufacturing sector, output advanced 0.7 percent in June and reversed a decrease of 0.7 percent in May. In the second quarter of 2012, manufacturing output rose at an annual rate of 1.4 percent, a marked deceleration from its strong gain of 9.8 percent in the first quarter. The largest contribution to the increase in the second quarter came from motor vehicles and parts, which climbed 18.2 percent; excluding motor vehicles and parts, manufacturing output edged up 0.1 percent.
The index for manufacturing in June was 5.6 percent above its year-earlier level. In June, capacity utilization for manufacturing moved up 0.4 percentage point to 77.7 percent, a rate 13.9 percentage points above its trough in June 2009 but still 1.1 percentage points below its long-run average.
Within manufacturing, the production index for durable goods rose 0.8 percent in June after having declined 0.6 percent in May. In June, most durable goods industries exhibited gains, with the largest increases registered by machinery, which advanced 2.3 percent, and motor vehicles and parts, which rose 1.9 percent. For the second quarter as a whole, durable goods manufacturing moved up at an annual rate of 6.2 percent, a pace only slightly slower than its increase of 7.2 percent during 2011 but substantially slower than its gain of 16.3 percent in the first quarter of this year.
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.
