Industrial Production Declined 0.6% in July
Washington, DC, August 15, 2024-Industrial production fell 0.6% in July after increasing 0.3% in June, according to the Federal Reserve.
Early July shutdowns concentrated in the petrochemical and related industries due to Hurricane Beryl held down the growth of industrial production by an estimated 0.3 percentage point. Manufacturing output stepped down 0.3% as the index for motor vehicles and parts fell nearly 8%; manufacturing excluding motor vehicles and parts rose 0.3%. The index for mining moved sideways while the index for utilities decreased 3.7%. At 102.9% of its 2017 average, total industrial production in July was 0.2% below its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization moved down to 77.8% in July, a rate that is 1.9 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2023) average.