Industrial production in the US decreased 0.6 per cent in March after increasing 0.1 per cent in February. For 1Q 2015, industrial production declined at an annual rate of 1.0 per cent, the first quarterly decrease since 2Q 2009.
The decline last quarter resulted from a drop in oil and gas well drilling and servicing of more than 60 per cent at an annual rate and from a decrease in manufacturing production of 1.2 per cent.
In March, manufacturing output moved up 0.1 per cent for its first monthly gain since November.
At 105.2 per cent of its 2007 average, total industrial production in March was 2 per cent above its level of a year earlier. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector decreased 0.6 percentage point in March to 78.4 per cent, a rate that is 1.7 percentage points below its long-run average.
Capacity utilization at 78.4 per cent is 1.7 per cent below the average from 1972 to 2012 and below the pre-recession level of 80.8 per cent in December 2007.