- Prior was +0.3%
- Industrial production y/y +1.1% vs +1.1% prior
- Capacity utilization 76.3% vs 76.3% expected
- Prior was 76.1% (revised to 76.2%)
- Manufacturing output +0.2% vs +0.2% expected
- Prior output 0.0% (revised to +0.3%)
US industrial activity continued to expand in July. Industrial production increased 0.2% m/m, following a 0.3% rise in June. Manufacturing production also grew 0.2%, while mining output increased 0.2% and utilities advanced 0.5%.
Within manufacturing, output excluding motor vehicles and parts rose 0.4%, suggesting that the underlying manufacturing sector performed somewhat better than the headline figure indicates.
Total industrial production stood at 103.0% of its 2017 average, leaving output 1.1% above its level a year earlier. This points to a gradual improvement in industrial activity, which has already been signalled by the rise in the ISM Manufacturing PMI, a leading indicator for industrial production.
Meanwhile, capacity utilization edged up to 76.3%, although it remains 3.1 percentage points below its 1972–2025 long-run average. Overall, the July data points to steady but modest growth in US industrial activity. Manufacturing remains positive, while the low level of capacity utilization suggests that the sector still has considerable room to expand before facing significant capacity constraints.
Chart: ISM Manufacturing PMI (blue) vs Industrial Production Y/Y (red)
This article was written by Giuseppe Dellamotta at investinglive.com.