Industrial production decreased 0.2 percent in September after edging down 0.1 percent in August, according to the Federal Reserve. Manufacturing output declined 0.1 percent for the second straight month.
The index for mining fell 2 percent, while the index for utilities rose 1.3 percent. For the third quarter as a whole, total industrial production rose at an annual rate of 1.8 percent, and manufacturing output increased 2.5 percent. A strong gain for motor vehicles and parts contributed substantially to the quarterly increases.
At 107.1 percent of its 2012 average, total industrial production in September was 0.4 percent above its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector fell 0.3 percentage point in September to 77.5 percent, a rate that is 2.6 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2014) average.
With an increase of 0.2 percent, the only major market group to post a gain in September was consumer goods. Among its components, the production of consumer energy products rose 1.3 percent, the index for consumer non-energy nondurables edged up 0.1 percent, and the output of durable consumer goods slipped 0.3 percent.
The index for business equipment declined slightly; among its major components, the only notable move was in transit equipment, which recorded a decrease of 0.7 percent. The output of construction supplies fell 1.3 percent, while the output of business supplies moved down 0.2 percent. The production of materials declined 0.3 percent, largely as a result of a decrease for energy materials. For the third quarter, most major market groups recorded increases; the largest gain was in the index for consumer goods, which rose at an annual rate of 5.2 percent.
Manufacturing output decreased 0.1 percent in September, as the output of durable goods moved down 0.2 percent and the production of nondurable goods was unchanged.
"The headwinds in manufacturing – rising trade deficits, a decline in the supply chain of oil country goods, and high inventories – are at their worst now, so the good news is that the restraints in 2015 will ease going into 2016," said Daniel Meckstroth, chief economist for the MAPI Foundation, the research affiliate of the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation.
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