Industrial production and capacity utilization for November 2000

Released for publication December 15

Industrial production fell 0.2 percent in November. Manufacturing output dropped 0.5 percent, with declines in many industries. Output at utilities surged 3.6 percent in response to unseasonably cool weather, and production in mining edged up 0.1 percent.

The rate of capacity utilization for total industry fell to 81.6 percent in November, a level 1/2 percentage point below its 1967-99 average.

MARKET GRoups

The output of consumer goods ticked up 0.1 percent in November after having fallen 0.9 percent in October. The production of durable consumer goods decreased for a second month and was again pulled down by a drop in the assembly rate of autos and light trucks. The output of other consumer durables, which dipped 0.3 percent in November, was held down by a decline in carpeting and furniture. The production of nondurable consumer goods, which gained 0.4 percent, was buoyed by a strong gain in energy products, especially utilities. Excluding energy, the output of nondurables fell 0.3 percent. Decreases in the production of paper products, food and tobacco, and clothing outweighed a gain in the output of consumer chemicals.