Industrial production and capacity utilization data for August 2013 are now available.Industrial production advanced 0.4 percent in August after having been unchanged in July; the gains in August were broadly based. Following a decrease in July of 0.4 percent, which was steeper than previously reported, manufacturing production rose 0.7 percent in August. The output of mines moved up 0.3 percent, its fifth consecutive monthly increase, and the production of utilities fell 1.5 percent, its fifth consecutive monthly decrease. At 99.4 percent of its 2007 average, total industrial production in August was 2.7 percent above its year-earlier level. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector increased 0.2 percentage point in August to 77.8 percent, a rate 0.6 percentage point above its level of a year earlier and 2.4 percentage points below its long-run (1972-2012) average.]]>
