Industrial Production Fell in May

Washington, DC, June 15, 2016—Industrial production decreased 0.4% in May after increasing 0.6% in April, according to the Federal Reserve. 

Declines in the indexes for manufacturing and utilities in May were slightly offset by a small gain for mining. 

The output of manufacturing moved down 0.4%, led by a large step-down in the production of motor vehicles and parts; factory output aside from motor vehicles and parts edged down 0.1%. 

The index for utilities fell 1.0%, as a drop in the output of electric utilities was partly offset by a gain for natural gas utilities. 

After eight straight monthly declines, the production at mines moved up 0.2%. 

At 103.6% of its 2012 average, total industrial production in May was 1.4% below its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector decreased 0.4 percentage point in May to 74.9 percent, a rate that is 5.1 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2015) average.