Industrial Production Drops in October for Second Month

Washington, DC, November 17, 2015—Industrial production declined 0.2% in October after decreasing the same amount in September.

In October, the index for manufacturing moved up 0.4%, while the index for mining fell 1.5% and the index for utilities dropped 2.5%.

For the third quarter as a whole, total industrial production is now estimated to have increased at an annual rate of 2.6%; a gain of 1.8% had been reported previously. At 107.2% of its 2012 average, total industrial production in October was 0.3% above its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector declined 0.2 percentage point in October to 77.5%, a rate that is 2.6 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2014) average.