Industrial Production Dropped 5.4% in March
Washington, DC, April 15, 2020-Total industrial production fell 5.4% in March, as the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic led many factories to suspend operations late in the month, according to the Federal Reserve.
Manufacturing output fell 6.3 %; most major industries posted decreases, with the largest decline registered by motor vehicles and parts. The decreases for total industrial production and for manufacturing were their largest since January 1946 and February 1946, respectively. The indexes for utilities and mining declined 3.9% and 2.0 %, respectively. At 103.7% of its 2012 average, the level of total industrial production in March was 5.5% lower than a year earlier. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector decreased 4.3 percentage points to 72.7% in March, a rate that is 7.1 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2019) average.