Industrial Production Ticked Down 0.1% in March

Washington, DC, April 16, 2019-Industrial production edged down 0.1% in March after edging up 0.1% in February; for the first quarter as a whole, the index slipped 0.3% at an annual rate, according to the Federal Reserve.

Manufacturing production was unchanged in March after declining in both January and February. The index for utilities rose 0.2%, while mining output moved down 0.8%. 

At 110.2% of its 2012 average, total industrial production was 2.8% higher in March than it was a year earlier. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector decreased 0.2 percentage point in March to 78.8%, a rate that is 1.0 percentage point below its long-run (1972–2018) average.