A newly released report from the Federal Reserve showed U.S. industrial production fell 1.4% in February—the fourth straight monthly decline.
At 99.7% of its 2002 average, output in February was 11.2% below its year-earlier level and was the lowest level since April 2002. Production in the manufacturing sector moved down 0.7%, with broad-based declines among its components.
The production of consumer goods decreased 0.7% in February, with consumer non-energy nondurable goods dipping 0.1%, and consumer energy products declining 3.4%. Among consumer durables, the output of automotive products rose 8.5% but remained about 35% below its year-earlier level. After dropping from an annual rate of 6.6 million units in December to a rate of 3.8 million units in January, motor vehicle assemblies increased in February to 4.7 million units—largely due to a resumption in the production of motor vehicles and parts after extended plant shutdowns in January. Still, it wasn't enough to offset broader declines across the sector. Car sales in February slid 41% to the lowest rate since December 1981, according to Autodata Corp., led by a 53% drop for General Motors Corp.
The index for home electronics moved down 1.9%; the index for appliances, furniture, and carpeting dropped 3.3%; and the index for miscellaneous goods fell 3.1%. Among non-energy nondurable goods, the index for clothing decreased 1.5%, and the index for consumer chemical products declined 0.2%. Lower residential sales of electricity and natural gas accounted for the decline in the index for consumer energy goods. Above-average temperatures contributed to a 7.7% drop in the output of utilities, while fuels output increased because of higher gasoline production.
Outside of manufacturing, the output of mines moved down 0.4%. The capacity utilization rate for total industry fell to 70.9%, a rate 10 percentage points below its average from 1972 to 2008. This rate matches the historical low for this series, which was recorded in December 1982.
