Industrial production and capacity utilization data for March 2011 are now available.Industrial production increased 0.8 percent in March and rose at an annual rate of 6.0 percent for the first quarter as a whole. Manufacturing output advanced 0.7 percent in March, its fourth consecutive month of strong expansion; factory production climbed at an annual rate of 9.1 percent in the first quarter. Outside of manufacturing, the output of mines rose 0.6 percent in March, while the output of utilities increased 1.7 percent after declining significantly in the preceding two months. At 93.6 percent of its 2007 average, total industrial production was 5.9 percent above its year-earlier level. The rate of capacity utilization for total industry rose 0.5 percentage point to 77.4 percent, a rate 3.0 percentage points below its average from 1972 to 2010.]]>
