U.S. Industrial Production Rises in February
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Factory sector growth picks up.
- Autos continue to hold back overall increase.
- Capacity utilization strengthens.
Industrial production increased 0.5% (7.5% y/y) during February after surging an unrevised 1.4% in January. The latest gain matched expectations in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Manufacturing output surged 1.2% (7.4% y/y) in February after edging 0.1% higher in January. Utilities output fell by 2.7% (-1.2% y/y) following January's 10.4% surge due to cold weather. Mining output edged 0.1% higher (17.3% y/y).
The February production increase was held back by a 3.5% decline in motor vehicle output which was unchanged y/y. Output of computers & electronic products offset the decline, strengthening 1.8% (8.9% y/y). Machinery production rose 0.8% (8.3% y/y) in February and electrical equipment & appliance production rose 0.5% (5.7% y/y). In the nondurable goods sector, apparel production surged 3.0% (0.5% y/y) last month. Petroleum output strengthened 2.3% (12.5% y/y) and chemical output gained 0.8% (14.6% y/y). Food & beverage production also rose 0.8% (3.7% y/y) in February.
In the special factory classifications, factory output less the high technology sector rose 1.1% (7.4% y/y) in February while factory production excluding both high tech and autos rose 1.5% (7.9% y/y).
Capacity utilization rose to 77.6% last month from 77.3% in January. A 77.9% rate had been expected. Utilization in the factory sector rose to 78.0%, the highest rate since September 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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