U.S. Industrial Production Holds Steady in April
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Factory output decline reverses earlier increase.
- Nondurable goods production falls sharply.
- Capacity utilization declines.
Industrial production was unchanged (+1.5% y/y) during April after easing an unrevised 0.3% in March and increasing 0.9% in February. The Action Economics Forecast Survey expected a 0.1% gain. Manufacturing output declined 0.4% (-+1.2% y/y) last month after rising 0.4% in March and surging 1.1% in February.
Mining output fell 0.3% (+0.7% y/y) after a 1.1% March rise. Utilities output jumped 3.3% (4.3% y/y) in April following a 6.2% March decline.
By market group, output of durable consumer goods fell 1.3% in April (-4.1% y/y) after rising 0.5% in March. Nondurable consumer goods output edged 0.1% higher (1.0% y/y) following a 1.5% decline. Business equipment production improved 0.2% (2.4% y/y) after 1.7% jump while nonindustrial supplies production declined 0.6% (+2.3% y/y) following s 0.4% gain.
By industry group, output of durable goods eased 0.2% (-1.1% y/y) in April following a 0.6% March rise. Motor vehicle & parts production fell 1.9% (-3.9% y/y) after rising 1.4%. Output of wood products increased 1.3%; production of nonmetallic mineral products fell 1.4%; machinery output rose 0.3%; and furniture production increased 0.9%. Production of electrical equipment & electronic products increased 0.6%, but computer & electronic product production fell 0.7%.
Output of nondurable goods fell 0.6% (+1.5% y/y) in April after rising 0.2% in March. Output of apparel and leather goods slumped 1.9%; petroleum production eased 0.2%; chemical output fell 0.7% and paper production weakened 0.4%. Textile industry output rose 0.4% while food, beverage & tobacco industry production declined 1.0%.
Output of selected high-technology industries increased 1.4% (8.5% y/y) in April following a 1.0% March decline. Manufacturing output excluding selected high-tech industries fell 0.5%, the first decline in the past three months. Manufacturing output excluding motor vehicle production fell 0.3% in April, reversing the March increase. Manufacturing output excluding production of motor vehicles and selected high-tech industries fell 0.4%, the first decline in six months.
Capacity utilization eased to 77.7% in April from 77.8% in March. The Action Economics Forecast Survey estimated 77.8%. In the manufacturing sector, the utilization rate was 76.8% after 77.2% in March. Durable goods industries utilization rate was 76.2% while the nondurable goods rate was 78.4%.
Industrial production and capacity data are in Haver’s USECON database. Additional detail on production and capacity utilization can be found in the IP database. The expectations figures come from the AS1REPNA database.
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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