Posted July 15, 2011
Industrial production rises
Industrial production increased 0.2 percent in June after having edged down 0.1 percent in May.
For the second quarter as a whole, total industrial production increased at an annual rate of 0.8 percent. Manufacturing output was unchanged in June.
For the second quarter as a whole, the manufacturing index edged up at an annual rate of 0.2 percent, a notably smaller gain than in any quarter since the recession ended in the second quarter of 2009. Capacity utilization for manufacturing was unchanged in June at 74.4 percent, a rate about 10 percentage points above its trough in June 2009 but 4.6 percentage points below its average from 1972 to 2010.
The production index for durable goods manufacturing was unchanged in June. Among its major categories, the largest increases were for primary metals and fabricated metal products, whereas the most significant decreases were for furniture and related products, motor vehicles and parts, and wood products.
