Updated: 17-Jan-20 09:44 ET
| December Industrial Production |
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| Updated: 17-Jan-20 09:44 ET |
Highlights
- Industrial production declined 0.3% in December (Briefing.com consensus +0.1%), pressured by a 5.6% decline in utilities output that stemmed from unseasonably warm weather.
- The capacity utilization rate fell to 77.0% from an upwardly revised 77.4% (from 77.3%) in November.
Key Factors
- Mining output increased 1.3% after declining 0.2% in November.
- Motor vehicle assemblies declined 7.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 10.61 million units.
- On a yr/yr basis, industrial production was down 1.0%.
- The capacity utilization rate of 77.0% is 2.8 percentage points below its long-run (1972-2018) average.
Big Picture
- The key takeaway from the report is that manufacturing output increased 0.2% despite a large 4.6% drop in the output of motor vehicles and parts. Excluding the motor vehicle sector, factory output increased 0.5%.
| Category | DEC | NOV | OCT | SEP | AUG |
| Industrial Production | |||||
| Total Index | -0.3% | 0.8% | -0.5% | -0.5% | 0.8% |
| Manufacturing | 0.2% | 1.0% | -0.7% | -0.8% | 0.7% |
| Utilities | -5.6% | 1.0% | 0.4% | 1.4% | -0.6% |
| Mining | 1.3% | -0.2% | -0.5% | -0.2% | 2.4% |
| Capacity Utilization | |||||
| Total Industry | 77.0% | 77.4% | 76.9% | 77.4% | 77.9% |
| Manufacturing | 75.2% | 75.1% | 74.5% | 75.1% | 75.7% |
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