Industrial Production Rises Amid July Heatwave

July witnessed a surge in industrial production by 1.0% in the United States, following setbacks over the past two months. The climb can be attributed to a substantial 5.2% jump in motor vehicles and parts production and an increased demand for cooling due to exceptionally high temperatures, which led to a 5.4% spike in the utilities index, a release of the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday.

Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization Overview:

• Industrial production in July stood at 102.9% of its 2017 average, slightly dipping by 0.2% from its previous year.

• Capacity utilization, a critical measure of how efficiently industries are using their resources, increased to 79.3% in July. This remains just 0.4 percentage points below the long-term average from 1972 to 2022.