Global| May 16 2018U.S. Industrial Production Steadily Increases
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The Federal Reserve reported that industrial production increased 0.7% (3.5% y/y) during April following a 0.7% March rise, revised from 0.5%. A 0.5% rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Factory sector [...]
The Federal Reserve reported that industrial production increased 0.7% (3.5% y/y) during April following a 0.7% March rise, revised from 0.5%. A 0.5% rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Factory sector production improved 0.5% (1.9% y/y) after holding steady in March, revised from 0.1%. Utility output strengthened 1.9% (6.0% y/y) after a 6.1% rise. Mining production improved 1.1% (10.6% y/y) following a 0.8% increase.
Strength in factory sector output reflected a 1.2% increase (1.3% y/y) in the production of business equipment which followed a 0.1% uptick. Industrial & other equipment production improved 1.8% (0.5% y/y) after a 0.9% decline. Production of information processing & related equipment strengthened 1.5% (4.3% y/y) after a 0.6% rise. Transit equipment production eased 0.2% (5.5% y/y) following a 0.4% increase.
Total consumer goods production increased 0.9% (3.4% y/y), about as it did in March. Nondurable consumer goods production increased 1.4% (3.8% y/y) following a 1.1% rise. Energy product output strengthened 3.2% (6.5% y/y) after a 6.5% increase. Apparel production rebounded 1.4% (1.2% y/y) after a 0.3% decrease. Paper product output rose 1.2% (-3.8% y/y) after a 0.9% increase. Chemical product production rose 1.0% (5.2% y/y) after a 0.2% rise. Working the other way, durable consumer goods production declined 0.6% (+2.3% y/y) after a 0.9% increase. Automotive product output declined 1.1% (+3.3% y/y) following two months of strong increase. Computer, video & related production fell 0.9% (+4.5% y/y) after a 1.5% fall. Appliance, furniture & carpeting production gained 0.7% (-1.5% y/y) following a 2.7% weakening.
Construction supplies output improved 0.3% (3.4% y/y) after a 1.0% decline.
Production of materials improved 0.5% (2.5% y/y) after a 0.9% increase. Energy product materials output increased 0.9% (9.9% y/y) after a 1.9% increase. Durable goods materials output rose 0.3% (1.9% y/y) following a 0.1% dip and nondurable goods materials rose 0.2% (0.6% y/y) following a 0.8% gain.
In the special aggregate groupings, production in selected high-technology industries rose 0.7% (6.1% y/y) following a 0.5% gain. Nonenergy production excluding high-tech gained 0.5% (1.5% y/y) following a 0.1% slip. Factory sector production excluding both high-tech and autos improved 0.6% (1.6% y/y) after a 0.2% slip.
Capacity utilization increased to 78.0%, the highest level since March 2015. Factory sector capacity utilization rose to 75.5%. Manuacturing sector capacity increased 0.9% y/y.
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) | Apr | Mar | Feb | Apr Y/Y | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Output | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 3.5 | 1.6 | -2.0 | -1.0 |
| Manufacturing | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 1.2 | -0.8 | 0.1 |
| Consumer Goods | 0.9 | 1.0 | -0.3 | 3.4 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 1.5 |
| Business Equipment | 1.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 3.2 | -5.3 | -2.0 |
| Construction Supplies | 0.3 | -1.0 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 0.6 |
| Materials | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 2.0 | -3.0 | -1.5 |
| Utilities | 1.9 | 6.1 | -9.6 | 6.0 | -1.3 | -0.4 | -0.8 |
| Mining | 1.1 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 10.6 | 6.4 | -9.7 | -3.4 |
| Capacity Utilization (%) | 78.0 | 77.6 | 77.1 | 76.2 | 78.1 | 75.4 | 77.3 |
| Manufacturing | 75.8 | 75.5 | 75.6 | 75.1 | 74.8 | 74.6 | 75.8 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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