Industrial Production Slipped 0.5% in April

Washington, DC, May 15, 2019-Industrial production fell 0.5% in April, and the rates of change for previous months were revised down on net, according to the Federal Reserve. 

Output is now reported to have declined 1.9% at an annual rate in the first quarter. Manufacturing production moved down 0.5% in April after being unchanged in March. The index for mining advanced 1.6% in April, while the index for utilities fell 3.5%. 

At 109.2% of its 2012 average, total industrial production was 0.9% higher in April than it was a year earlier. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector decreased 0.6 percentage point in April to 77.9%, a rate that is 1.9 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2018) average.