by Calculated Risk on 12/03/2025 09:15:00 AM
From the Fed: Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization
Industrial production (IP) increased 0.1 percent in September after moving down 0.3 percent in August; for the third quarter as a whole, IP increased at an annual rate of 1.1 percent. In September, the indexes for manufacturing and for mining were unchanged relative to August, and the output of utilities moved up 1.1 percent. At 101.4 percent of its 2017 average, total IP in September was 1.6 percent above its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization was unchanged relative to August at 75.9 percent, a rate that is 3.6 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2024) average.
emphasis added
Click on graph for larger image.
This graph shows Capacity Utilization. This series is up from the record low set in April 2020, and close to the level in February 2020 (pre-pandemic).
Capacity utilization at 75.9% is 3.6% below the average from 1972 to 2023. This was below consensus expectations.
Note: y-axis doesn’t start at zero to better show the change.
The second graph shows industrial production since 1967.
Industrial production increased to 101.4. This is below the pre-pandemic level.
Industrial production was below consensus expectations (with revisions).
