A newly released report from the Federal Reserve showed U.S. industrial production decreased 0.2 percent to 94.8 in November after having advanced 0.7 percent in October. Likewise, capacity utilization for total industry decreased to 77.8 percent. Following are a few highlights from the report: Market Groups The output of consumer goods declined 0.5 percent in November. The production of durable consumer goods fell 1.4 percent, as the indexes for automotive products and home electronics dropped 2.0 percent or more. The output of appliances, furniture, and carpeting decreased 0.2 percent, while the output of miscellaneous goods increased 0.6 percent. The production of nondurable consumer goods moved down 0.2 percent; an increase of 1.0 percent for consumer energy products was outweighed by a decrease of 0.7 percent for other nondurable consumer goods. The decline in non-energy nondurables reflected reduced output for each of its major categories. Meanwhile, the index for business equipment edged down 0.1 percent while the output of transit equipment was unchanged in November. Gains in the output of civilian aircraft and railroad equipment offset declines in the production of motor vehicles for businesses. The index for information processing equipment inched up 0.1 percent in November, and the production of industrial and other equipment decreased 0.3 percent. In other key sectors, the production of defense and space equipment climbed 1.4 percent in November after a similarly sized gain in October, while the output of construction supplies rose 0.4 percent in November—its third consecutive monthly increase. The index for business supplies fell 1.1 percent, with lower production in both its energy and non-energy components. The index for materials to be further processed in the industrial sector was unchanged in November. The output of durable materials gained 0.4 percent for a second straight month and was up 5.9 percent from a year earlier. In November, among the major categories of durable materials, consumer parts moved down 0.2 percent, equipment parts were unchanged, and other durable materials advanced 0.7 percent. The production of nondurable materials decreased 0.5 percent; a gain in paper materials was outweighed by losses in both textile and chemical materials. The output of energy materials was unchanged. Industry Groups Manufacturing output decreased 0.4 percent in November, and the factory operating rate dipped to 75.3 percent. The output of durable goods slipped 0.1 percent but was 7.1 percent above the level from 12 months ago. Decreases of more than 1.5 percent in November occurred for wood products, electrical equipment, appliances, components, and motor vehicles and parts. Gains of more than 1.5 percent were recorded for primary metals and for aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment. The index for nondurable manufacturing declined 0.4 percent in November. Among the major components of nondurables, losses of more than 0.5 percent were reported for textile and product mills, apparel and leather, printing, and chemicals. Only the indexes for paper and for petroleum and coal products moved up. The output of mines edged up 0.1 percent in November, after having climbed more than 2.0 percent in October. Meanwhile, capacity utilization in mining was unchanged at 92.9 percent in November, a rate 5.5 percentage points above its long-run average.
The complete U.S. industrial production report for November is available online.