Econoday Economic Report: United States : Industrial Production March 16, 2012

2012 Economic Calendar

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United States : Industrial Production

Released On 3/16/2012 9:15:00 AM For Feb, 2012

	Prior	Prior Revised	Consensus	Consensus Range	Actual
Production - M/M change	0.0 %	0.4 %	0.5 %	0.2 % to 1.0 %	0.0 %
Capacity Utilization Rate - Level	78.5 %	78.8 %	78.8 %	78.5 % to 79.0 %	78.7 %
Manufacturing - M/M	0.7 %	1.1 %	0.5 %	0.4 % to 0.6 %	0.3 %

Definition
The Federal Reserve's monthly index of industrial production and the related capacity indexes and capacity utilization rates cover manufacturing, mining, and electric and gas utilities. The industrial sector, together with construction, accounts for the bulk of the variation in national output over the course of the business cycle. The production index measures real output and is expressed as a percentage of real output in a base year, currently 2007. The capacity index, which is an estimate of sustainable potential output, is also expressed as a percentage of actual output in 2007. The rate of capacity utilization equals the seasonally adjusted output index expressed as a percentage of the related capacity index. Why Investors Care

The industrial sector accounts for less than 20 percent of GDP. Yet, it creates much of the cyclical variability in the economy.
Data Source: Haver Analytics

The capacity utilization rate reflects the limits to operating the nation's factories, mines and utilities. In the past, supply bottlenecks created inflationary pressures as the utilization rate hit 84 to 85 percent.
Data Source: Haver Analytics

2012 Release Schedule

Released On: 1/18 2/15 3/16 4/17 5/16 6/15 7/17 8/15 9/14 10/16 11/16 12/14

Release For: Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov