Industrial Production Production -0.1% vs expected +0.3% and prior +0.2%(revised from +0.4%) Capacity Utilization 78.8% vs expected 79.3% and prior 79.1%(revised from 79.2%) Manufacturing -0.4% vs expected +0.1% and prior +0.7%(revised from +1.0%) U.S. Industrial Production Declines in August By Jonathan House and Eric Morath WASHINGTON--U.S. industrial production fell in August for the first time since January, the latest sign of uneven improvement in the economy. Industrial production, which measures the output of U.S. manufacturers, utilities and mines, fell 0.1% in August from the prior month, the Federal Reserve said Monday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.3% increase. August capacity utilization fell 0.3 percentage point to a 78.8% rate. The report showed industrial output softening after strong gains during the spring. Julys increase was revised down to 0.2% from 0.4%. Manufacturing production, the biggest and most closely watched component of the overall figure, fell 0.4% in August after surging by 0.7% in July thanks to strong output from the autos sector. Excluding autos, factory output rose by 0.1% in both July and August. Still, overall industrial output in August was up 4.1% from the same period last year. The health of the broader economy has been improving since a weather induced slump in the first quarter. It grew at a 4.2% annual rate in the three months to June. More recent data point to a slower but still healthy pace of growth. August retail sales were up 5% from the same period a year earlier, the largest such gain in more than a year. Durable goods orders surged 22.6% in July, though the data were skewed by an unusually large number of new aircraft orders. Macroeconomic Advisers forecasts the economy will expand at a 3.4% pace in the third quarter. The decline in capacity utilization in August is an indication of more spare resources in the factory sector. The gauge has yet to recover pre-recession levels. Federal Reserve officials are monitoring gauges of slack throughout the economy as leading indicators of inflationary pressures. The officials will meet to discuss monetary policy Tuesday and Wednesday.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 22:26:55 +0000
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