Industrial production and capacity utilization data for January 2012 are now available.Industrial production was unchanged in January, as a gain of 0.7 percent in manufacturing was offset by declines in mining and utilities. Within manufacturing, the index for motor vehicles and parts jumped 6.8 percent and the index for other manufacturing industries increased 0.3 percent. The output of utilities fell 2.5 percent, as demand for heating was held down by temperatures that moved further above seasonal norms; the output of mines declined 1.8 percent. Total industrial production is now reported to have advanced 1.0 percent in December; the initial estimate had been an increase of 0.4 percent. This large upward revision reflected higher output for many manufacturing and mining industries. At 95.9 percent of its 2007 average, total industrial production in January was 3.4 percent above its level of a year earlier. The capacity utilization rate for total industry decreased to 78.5 percent, a rate 1.8 percentage points below its long-run (1972--2011) average.]]>
