Industrial production was down 0.5% in April and output for the first quarter (Q1) is now down at an annualized rate of 1.9%. That includes downward revisions that were a net negative.
Manufacturing production fell 0.5% in April after being unchanged in March. The index for mining rose 1.6%, while the index for utilities fell 3.5%.
At 109.2% of its 2012 average, total industrial production was still 0.9% higher in April than it was a year earlier. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector fell 0.6 percentage point in April to 77.9%, a rate that is 1.9% below its long-run (1972–2018) average.
| Prior | Revised | Consensus Forecast | Forecast Range | ||
| Production – M/M ∆ | -0.1% | 0.2% | 0.0% | -0.5% — 0.4% | -0.5% |
| Manufacturing – M/M | 0.0% | 0.1% | -0.1% — 0.3% | -0.5% | |
| Capacity Utilization Rate | 78.8% | 78.5% | 78.7% | 78.5% — 79.1% | 77.9% |
