by Calculated Risk on 1/14/2011 09:15:00 AM

From the Fed: Industrial production and Capacity Utilization

Industrial production increased 0.8 percent in December after having risen 0.3 percent in November. ... At 94.9 percent of its 2007 average, total industrial production in December was 5.9 percent above its level of a year earlier. The capacity utilization rate for total industry rose to 76.0 percent, a rate 4.6 percentage points below its average from 1972 to 2009.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph shows Capacity Utilization. This series is up 11.5% from the record low set in June 2009 (the series starts in 1967).

Capacity utilization at 76.0% is still far below normal - and well below the pre-recession levels of 81.2% in November 2007.

Note: y-axis doesn't start at zero to better show the change.

The second graph shows industrial production since 1967.

Industrial production increased in December, but production is still 5.8% below the pre-recession levels at the end of 2007.

This was above consensus expectations of a 0.5% increase in Industrial Production, and an increase to 75.6% for Capacity Utilization.