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Economy in Brief
U.S. FHFA House Price Rise Moderates
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Price Index for house purchases increased 0.2% in July (6.4% y/y)...
Philadelphia Fed Nonmanufacturing Business Activity Index Improves
The Philadelphia Fed reported that its Nonmanufacturing Business Index of current conditions at the company level increased to 46.8 in September...
U.S. Gasoline Prices Remain High; Crude Oil Costs Strengthen
Gasoline prices, at $2.84 per gallon last week (10.1% y/y), were unchanged from the prior week...
French Manufacturing Takes a Sizable Step Back
France's INSEE manufacturing survey fell sharply as the headline climate index shed the better part of three points...
Texas Factory Sector Index Retreats; Expectations Are Mixed
The Dallas Fed indicated in its Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey that the General Business Activity Index fell to 28.1 in September...
by Tom Moeller February 15, 2018
The Federal Reserve indicated that industrial production slipped 0.1% (+3.7 y/y) during January, following a 0.4% December gain, revised from 0.9%. A 0.2% rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Factory sector production held steady (1.8% y/y) for a second straight month. A 0.6% increase (10.8% y/y) in utility output was offset by a 1.0% decline (+8.8% y/y) in mining production which followed a 0.4% fall.
Stability in factory sector output reflected a 0.3% increase (2.9% y/y) in consumer goods production. Motor vehicle & parts output increased 0.6% (1.4% y/y) after a 1.1% rise. Apparel production gained 0.2% (-8.3% y/y) but paper output fell 0.4% (+0.5% y/y). Appliance & furniture production fell 0.6% (+3.1% y/y), down for the fourth straight month. Chemical product production strengthened 1.1% (3.2% y/y) after a 0.3% rise. Business equipment production improved 0.9% (4.8% y/y) following a 1.0% gain. Machinery production increased 0.5% (7.9% y/y) and computer & electronic component production gained 1.3% (+2.4% y/y) after a 0.7% rise. Chemical production rose 1.1% (3.2% y/y) after a 0.3% rise and petroleum & related product output rose 0.9% (1.9% y/y). Construction supplies output declined 1.4% (+0.9 y/y.
Production of materials eased 0.3% (+4.7% y/y) as durable goods materials slipped 0.2% (+1.8% y/y) and nondurable goods materials eased 0.3% (+1.2% y/y)
In the special aggregate groupings, production in selected high-technology industries rose 0.9% (7.9% y/y), the fifth straight strong increase. Nonenergy production excluding high-tech slipped 0.1% (+1.4% y/y). Factory sector production excluding both high-tech and autos held steady (1.6% y/y) after a 0.2% dip.
Capacity utilization eased to 77.5%, but remained near the highest level since February 2015. Factory sector capacity utilization held steady m/m at 76.2%. Electric & gas utility utilization strengthened to 81.1%.
Industrial production and capacity data are included in Haver's USECON database, with additional detail in the IP database. The expectations figure is in the AS1REPNA database.
| Industrial Production (SA, % Change) | Jan | Dec | Nov | Jan Y/Y | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Output | -0.1 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 3.7 | 2.0 | -1.2 | -0.7 |
| Manufacturing | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 1.4 | -0.0 | 0.1 |
| Consumer Goods | 0.3 | 1.0 | -0.7 | 2.9 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 2.3 |
| Business Equipment | 0.9 | -0.3 | 0.0 | 4.8 | 2.6 | -1.8 | -0.9 |
| Construction Supplies | -1.4 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 0.5 |
| Materials | -0.3 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 4.7 | 2.7 | -2.3 | -1.4 |
| Utilities | 0.6 | 4.6 | -1.8 | 10.8 | -0.3 | -0.3 | -0.7 |
| Mining | -1.0 | -0.4 | 2.1 | 8.8 | 6.8 | -9.1 | -4.3 |
| Capacity Utilization (%) | 77.5 | 77.7 | 77.5 | 75.7 | 76.5 | 75.7 | 76.8 |
| Manufacturing | 76.2 | 76.2 | 76.3 | 75.4 | 75.6x | 75.1 | 75.5 |
