U.S. industrial production declines 1.7% in December

U.S. industrial production declined 0.7% in December and 1.7% at an annual rate in the fourth quarter, according to data from the Federal Reserve.

In December, manufacturing output fell 1.3% amid widespread declines across the sector.

Previously, total industrial production trended upward in 2021 through April of this year, but had leveled off since then, despite signs that supply chain disruptions were easing.

In October, factory, mine, and utility output declined 0.1 percent.

Although the October figure was the fourth monthly decline in the past six months so far, total industrial production was up 3.3 percent from the previous 12 months, although the month-on-month increase was smaller than the 4.7 percent increase of the previous 12 months.

In particular, manufacturing output, which accounts for about 74% of all industrial production, had fared better in recent months after being a drag on total output growth in 2Q2022.

In October, manufacturing output advanced 0.1% – the fourth consecutive monthly increase – and was up 2.4% over the past year.

Industrial production

Manufacturing production fell 1.3% in December and declined 2.5% at an annual rate in the fourth quarter.

In December, the durable and nondurable manufacturing indexes fell 1.1% and 1.5%, respectively, while the index for other manufacturing (publishing and logging) declined 0.9 percent.

Within durable goods, most major industries posted declines of at least 1 percent; machinery and wood products posted the largest declines of 3.4 and 2.1 percent, respectively. Within nondurables, the indexes for all major industries declined, with the indexes for printing and support and petroleum and coal products contracting by more than 3 percent.

Meanwhile, mining output declined 0.9 percent in December; the index rose 0.7 percent at an annual rate in the fourth quarter, down markedly from the rates of increase in the second and third quarters.

Utilities output rose 3.8% in December, driven by increases in electricity and natural gas services.

The indexes for all major market groups except defense and space equipment decreased for a second
consecutive month in December. Business equipment recorded the largest drop (2.0 percent), followed by
construction supplies (1.4 percent) and business supplies (1.3 percent).