Industrial Production Increased by 0.4% in August

Washington, DC, September 15, 2020-Industrial production rose 0.4% in August for its fourth consecutive monthly increase, according to the Federal Reserve. 

However, even after the recent gains, the index in August was 7.3% below its pre-pandemic February level. Manufacturing output continued to improve in August, rising 1.0%, but the gains for most manufacturing industries have gradually slowed since June. Mining production fell 2.5% in August, as Tropical Storm Marco and Hurricane Laura caused sharp but temporary drops in oil and gas extraction and well drilling. The output of utilities moved down 0.4%. At 101.4% of its 2012 average, the level of total industrial production was 7.7% lower in August than it was a year earlier. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector increased 0.3 percentage point in August to 71.4%, a rate that is 8.4 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2019) average but 7.3 percentage points above its low in April.