The following is the unedited transcript of the news release from Federal Reserve Bank


Industrial production fell 0.5 percent in February after having increased 0.1 percent in January. Much of the decrease in February resulted from a weather-related drop of 3.7 percent in the output of utilities. In the manufacturing sector, output decreased 0.2 percent in February, and declines were fairly widespread across industries. The output of mines moved up 0.4 percent. At 113.7 percent of its 2002 average, total industrial production was 1.0 percent above its year-earlier level. The capacity utilization rate for total industry in February fell 0.6 percentage point, to 80.9 percent, the lowest rate since November 2005.

Market Groups


The production of consumer goods decreased 0.6 percent in February with declines in the production of both consumer durables and consumer nondurables. Among durable consumer goods, the production index for automotive products moved down 1.3 percent, to a level roughly the same as its year-earlier reading. The production of appliances, furniture, and carpeting dropped 3.1 percent further, and the output of miscellaneous consumer durables edged down. The output of home electronics advanced 1.2 percent after having fallen nearly 1 percent in the previous month. The output of non-energy nondurables advanced 0.2 percent; gains in the production of food and tobacco, chemical products, and paper products offset declines in clothing production. The output of consumer energy goods dropped as a result of lower sales by utilities to residences.

The output of business equipment edged up 0.1 percent in February, as an increase in information processing equipment outweighed decreases both in transit equipment and in industrial and other equipment. Information processing equipment rose 1.4 percent with continued gains in most of its components. A decrease of 0.4 percent in transit equipment resulted from declines in motor vehicle assemblies and in the production of civilian aircraft. The index for industrial and other equipment fell 0.5 percent; within industrial equipment, declines were widespread.

The output of defense and space equipment declined 0.3 percent in February after having increased 1.0 percent in January.

The output of construction supplies fell 0.8 percent in February after having decreased 0.6 percent in January; the level of production in February was nearly 1 percent below its year-earlier level and 5.2 percent below its peak in 2006. The output of business supplies declined 1.1 percent in February.

The production of materials fell 0.5 percent in February after having changed little in January. Within non-energy materials, the index for durable materials edged down 0.2 percent in February. A gain in equipment parts was outweighed by a decline in consumer parts, which reflected lower output of motor vehicle parts, and by a decrease in other durable materials. The output of nondurable materials moved down 0.3 percent; the indexes for textile materials, paper materials, and chemical materials each declined 0.3 percent. Energy materials fell 1.0 percent as a result of a decrease in utility output.

Industry Groups

Manufacturing production decreased 0.2 percent in February after having been unchanged in January. The factory operating rate fell 0.3 percentage point in February, to 79.3 percent, a level 0.5 percentage point below its 1972-2007 average. The production of durable goods moved down 0.4 percent. Large production declines were recorded in wood products, primary metals, motor vehicles and parts, furniture and related products, and miscellaneous products. Increases occurred in machinery and in computer and electronic products. The production of nondurables edged down 0.1 percent after having risen the same amount in January. In February, a decrease in printing and support, as well as small declines in some other categories, more than offset small gains in the production of food, beverage, and tobacco products; paper; and petroleum and coal products. The output of non-NAICS industries (publishing and logging) edged down 0.1 percent and was 0.7 percent below its year-earlier level.

The output of electric utilities fell 3.5 percent in February, and the output of natural gas utilities dropped 5.0 percent. The operating rate for utilities moved down 3.4 percentage points, to 84.7 percent, a level 2.0 percentage points below its 1972-2007 average. Mining production rose 0.4 percent; the capacity utilization rate for mining edged up to 92.0 percent, a rate 4.5 percentage points above its long-run average.

Capacity utilization at industries grouped by stage of process changed as follows: For the crude stage, utilization was unchanged at 90.2 percent, a rate that is 3.6 percentage points above its 1972-2007 average; for the primary and semifinished stages, utilization decreased 1.0 percentage point, to 80.9 percent; and for the finished stage, utilization edged down 0.2 percentage point to 78.0 percent.


Available at:

http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g17/current/default.htm