U.S. Industrial Production Much Stronger than Expected in April
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Solid increase in all three major categories.
- Manufacturing increase led by motor vehicles.
- Capacity utilization strengthens to highest level since December 2018.
Industrial production increased 1.1% (6.4% y/y) in April following an unrevised 0.9% gain in March. A 0.4% increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. Manufacturing output rose 0.8% m/m (5.8% y/y) in April, the same monthly increase as in March (revised down slightly from 0.9%). Utilities output increased 2.4% m/m (7.5% y/y) following a 0.3% decline in March. Mining output gained 1.6% m/m (8.6% y/y) in April after a 1.9% m/m increase in March.
The increase in manufacturing output in April was once again led by motor vehicle and parts production, which was up 3.9% m/m on top of an upwardly revised 8.4% monthly gain in March (initially 7.8% m/m). Durable goods manufacturing was up 1.1% m/m while nondurable good output rose a more modest 0.3% m/m.
In the special classifications, factory output of selected high technology industries fell 0.3% m/m in April, the first monthly decline since August 2021, after a 1.4% m/m gain in March. Factory production excluding the high technology sector increased a solid 0.8% m/m, the same monthly increase as in March. Manufacturing production excluding both high tech and motor vehicles rose 0.6% m/m in April after a 0.3% m/m increase in March.
Capacity utilization rose to 79.0% in April, the highest level since December 2018, from 78.2% in March (revised from 78.3%). A 78.6% rate had been expected. Utilization in the factory sector rose to 79.2% in April, the highest reading since April 2007, from 78.6% in March (revised from 78.7%).
Industrial production and capacity are located in Haver's USECON database. Additional detail on production and capacity utilization can be found in the IP database. The expectations figures come from the AS1REPNA database.
Sandy Batten
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Sandy Batten has more than 30 years of experience analyzing industrial economies and financial markets and a wide range of experience across the financial services sector, government, and academia. Before joining Haver Analytics, Sandy was a Vice President and Senior Economist at Citibank; Senior Credit Market Analyst at CDC Investment Management, Managing Director at Bear Stearns, and Executive Director at JPMorgan. In 2008, Sandy was named the most accurate US forecaster by the National Association for Business Economics. He is a member of the New York Forecasters Club, NABE, and the American Economic Association. Prior to his time in the financial services sector, Sandy was a Research Officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Senior Staff Economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the US Treasury, and Economist at the International Monetary Fund. Sandy has taught economics at St. Louis University, Denison University, and Muskingun College. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in a wide range of academic publications. He has a B.A. in economics from the University of Richmond and a M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from The Ohio State University.
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