A cold snap boosted utilities by a whopping 7.2 percent.
The Fed’s Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization report for January provides an interesting set of statistics.
- Industrial production (IP) increased 0.5 percent in January after moving up 1.0 percent in December.
- In January, gains in the output of aircraft and parts contributed 0.2 percentage point to total IP growth following the earlier resolution of a work stoppage at a major aircraft manufacturer.
- Manufacturing output declined 0.1 percent in January, held down by a 5.2 percent decrease in the index for motor vehicles and parts.
- The indexes for mining fell 1.2 percent.
- The index for utilities jumped 7.2 percent, as cold temperatures boosted the demand for heating
The Fed reports a decline in manufacturing of 0.1 percent, I calculate a decline of 0.2 percent using inputs to 4 decimal places. My other numbers match.
Industrial Production
Manufacturing production peaked in January of 2008 at 106.4 at the start of the great recession. It never recovered and the index is now at 99.6.
Industrial Production Index Detail
Other than the weather, and the end of a work stoppage on aircraft, there is nothing to cheer about in this report.
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