The data in this release include preliminary estimates of industrial capacity for 2009. Measured fourth quarter to fourth quarter, total industrial capacity is projected to decrease 0.3 percent this year after having expanded 1.5 percent in 2008. Manufacturing capacity is estimated to decline 0.6 percent in 2009 after having risen 1.7 percent last year. In 2009, mining capacity is estimated to expand 0.8 percent, about the same as in 2008, and utilities capacity is projected to rise 1.7 percent, which is 0.5 percentage point slower than it had last year. With the publication on March 27, 2009, of the annual revision to industrial production, capacity, and capacity utilization, these estimates will be updated to reflect more-comprehensive source data, including the U.S. Census Bureau's Survey of Plant Capacity for the fourth quarter of 2008, which covers manufacturing.
