Industrial Production Inched Down in May

Washington, DC, June 15, 2018-Industrial production edged down 0.1% in May after rising 0.9% in April, according to the Federal Reserve.

Manufacturing production fell 0.7% in May, largely because truck assemblies were disrupted by a major fire at a parts supplier. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, factory output moved down 0.2%.

The index for mining rose 1.8%, its fourth consecutive month of growth; the output of utilities moved up 1.1%. At 107.3% of its 2012 average, total industrial production was 3.5% higher in May than it was a year earlier. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector decreased 0.2 percentage point in May to 77.9%, a rate that is 1.9 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2017) average.