Industrial measures remain steady amid rising machinery investment
By Kristin Bartschi
AMT Principal Economist Christopher Chidzik provided commentary this week on the latest report from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, which announced May U.S. industrial production increased slightly compared to April 2025 levels.
Capacity utilization was unchanged at a level 3.2 percentage points below the long run average. For manufacturers, both industrial production and capacity utilization were flat. Manufacturers of defense and space equipment increased output more than 1% compared to the previous month.
“While overall levels of industrial production and capacity utilization are flat, sectors that most heavily rely on manufacturing technology are continuing to see increasing levels of output and utilization that could foreshadow additional capital expenditures in the remainder of the year,” said Chidzik. “Since the end of 2024, capacity utilization for machinery manufacturers has steadily trended upward. With order activity already elevated and customer preferences turning toward more sophisticated machinery, the manufacturing technology industry needs to closely monitor capacity constraints to avoid a similar expansion in delivery times to that seen during the order frenzy following the recovery from the COVID-19 recession.”
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.
