U.S. Industrial Production Increases Moderately in November
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Factory output stands at highest level since January 2019.
- Durable & nondurable goods output slows.
- Capacity utilization increases.
Industrial production increased 0.5% (5.3% y/y) during November following a 1.7% October rise, revised from 1.6%. Motor vehicle parts shortages and recovery from Hurricane Ida affected production last month. A 0.7% rise had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Manufacturing output rose 0.7% last month (4.6% y/y) following a 1.4% increase during October, revised from 1.2%.
Durable goods production rose 0.8% (4.9% y/y) last month after a 1.4% October gain. Motor vehicle production rose 2.2% (-5.4% y/y) following a 10.1% rise. Excluding the motor vehicle sector, factory output rose 0.6% (5.5% y/y) after a 0.8% gain. Elsewhere in the durable goods sector, high-tech product production rose 0.7% (6.3% y/y) after a 0.3% rise in October. Production of electrical equipment, appliances & components improved 0.2% (4.9% y/y) in November after falling 0.9% in October. Machinery output weakened 0.7% (+8.0% y/y) and reversed the prior month's gain. Output of computers & electronic products improved 0.8% (7.5% y/y) in November after falling in the prior two months. Primary metals production rose 0.5% (8.4% y/y) after a 1.6% gain while fabricated metals output rose 0.6% (5.0% y/y) last month, about the same as in each of the prior three months.
In the nondurable goods sector, production improved 0.5% (4.7% y/y) after rising 1.3% in October. Chemical production rose 0.5% (6.9% y/y) after a 2.1% rise. Petroleum & coal product output declined 1.2% (+12.7% y/y) after October's 3.8% recovery. Food, beverage & tobacco output rose 0.8% (0.2% y/y) after two months of 0.4% increase, but textile production rose 1.2% (5.7% y/y) in November and reversed the prior month's decline. Apparel production fell 0.5% (+5.3% y/y) after a 1.6% October decline.
Electric & gas utilities production declined 0.8% (+5.1% y/y) in November following October's 0.6% increase. Electric power output fell 1.9% (+4.2% y/y) but natural gas distribution rose 6.1% (11.7% y/y). Mining output rose 0.7% (9.2% y/y) after a 4.3% gain.
Capacity utilization rose to 76.8% in November from 76.5% in October. A utilization rate of 76.8% had been expected. In manufacturing, the utilization rate increased to 77.3% last month, the highest level since December 2018.
Industrial production and capacity are located 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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