Industrial, manufacturing production rose 1.1% in November

Industrial and manufacturing production increased 1.1% in November, from October, according to the Federal Reserve. The increase can be attributed to a rise in the output of motor vehicles and parts following the General Motors strike.

The Federal Reserve released Dec. 17 data on industrial production and capacity use for November.

Excluding motor vehicles and parts, the indexes for total industrial production and for manufacturing increased by 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively.  Total industrial production fell 0.8% in November, from the same month in 2018. Capacity use for the industrial sector rose 0.7 percentage points to 77.3% in November. The rate is 2.5 percentage points below its long-run (1972-2018) average.

The rise in the output of motor vehicles and parts contributed to increases of 6.4% in consumer durables and transit equipment and to a 1.3% rise in durable goods materials. Most of the other major market groups reported increases. The index for consumer energy products increased by 2.2%, and the indexes for defense and space equipment, for information processing equipment, and for energy materials all rose about 1%. The only decreases in the major market groups were industrial and other equipment and nondurable non-energy materials.

Manufacturing output increased by 1.1% in November. The 2.2% increase in durables reflected a 12.4% rise in motor vehicles and parts. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, the output of durables rose 0.6%. The indexes for primary metals and for computer and electronic products increased 1% or more. The indexes for nonmetallic mineral products, furniture and related products and machinery fell slightly. The production of nondurables increased 0.1%, and increases for plastics and rubber products and for food, beverages and tobacco products were mostly offset by declines in petroleum and coal products, for chemicals, and for apparel and leather. The output of other manufacturing, including publishing and logging, decreased by 1.9%.

Mining output fell 0.2% in November, and the mining index has decreased over the past several months as a result of declines in drilling and related support activities for oil and gas wells.

Capacity use for manufacturing rose 0.7 percentage points to 75.2% in November. The rate is 3.1 percentage points below its long-run average. The operating rate for durables increased by 1.5 percentage points, and the rate for nondurables fell 0.1 percentage points. The use rate for mining declined to 88.6% and was 1.5 percentage points higher than its long-run average. The rate for utilities rose 2.1 percentage points but remained below its long-run average.