Industrial production declined 0.1% in May after an increase of 0.8% in April. Manufacturing production also fell 0.1 percent last month. The output index for mining moved down 0.2%, but the output index for utilities was up by the same amount. At 112.1% of the 2002 average, overall industrial output was 4.3% above its May 2005 level.

The rate of capacity utilization for total industry fell 0.2 percentage point, to 81.7%, a rate that is 0.7 percentage point above its long-run (1972-2005) average. The factory operating rate fell 0.3 percentage point, to 80.5%, and the mining operating rate edged down to 89.6%, but the rates in both sectors remained above their long-run averages. The capacity utilization rate for utilities edged up, to 86.5 percent, in May but remained slightly below its 1972-2005 average.

Find this month’s detailed industrial production/capacity utilization here.