by Calculated Risk on 9/16/2013 09:40:00 AM

From the Fed: Industrial production and Capacity Utilization

Industrial production advanced 0.4 percent in August after having been unchanged in July; the gains in August were broadly based. Following a decrease in July of 0.4 percent, which was steeper than previously reported, manufacturing production rose 0.7 percent in August. The output of mines moved up 0.3 percent, its fifth consecutive monthly increase, and the production of utilities fell 1.5 percent, its fifth consecutive monthly decrease. At 99.4 percent of its 2007 average, total industrial production in August was 2.7 percent above its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector increased 0.2 percentage point in August to 77.8 percent, a rate 0.6 percentage point above its level of a year earlier and 2.4 percentage points below its long-run (1972-2012) average.
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows Capacity Utilization. This series is up 10.7 percentage points from the record low set in June 2009 (the series starts in 1967).

Capacity utilization at 77.8% is still 2.4 percentage points below its average from 1972 to 2010 and below the pre-recession level of 80.8% in December 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 0.4% in August to 99.4. This is 18.3% above the recession low, but still 1.5% below the pre-recession peak.

The monthly change for both Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization were below expectations. The consensus was for a 0.5% increase in Industrial Production in August, and for Capacity Utilization to increase to 77.9%.