Full text of G.3 Capacity Utilization, Manufacturing, Mining, Utilities and Industrial Materials : August 17, 1979

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FEDERAL

RESERVE

statistical

release

For immediate release
August 17, 1979

G.3 (402)

CAPACITY UTILIZATION: MANUFACTURING AND MATERIALS
July 1979
Manufacturers operated at 85.6 percent of capacity in July—
down 0.4 percentage point from the revised June rate and 1.5 percentage
points lower than the rate in March when it reached 87.1 percent. The
March rate, the highest in more than five years, was somewhat below the
cyclical peak of 88.0 percent reached in 1973.
Industrial materials producers operated at 87.2 percent of
their capacity in July, down 0.1 percentage point from the June rate and
1.6 percentage points from the high last December. This July utilization
rate was 5.4 percentage points below the 1973 peak.
The July decline in the overall manufacturing rate was concentrated in advanced processing industries, as it was in June, primarily
because the production of motor vehicles declined further.
The slight decline in the utilization rate for materials was
attributable to a decline in the production of durable goods materials
that are used in producing consumer durable goods and to a slight easing
in the output of energy materials. The utilization rates for nondurable
goods materials, particularly paper and chemical materials, rose somewhat.

Federal Reserve estimates of capacity utilization have been
revised. The revisions cover several years of data and are described
in the supplement to this release, "Capacity Utilization: Manufacturing
and Materials, January 1967 - December 1978."

MANUFACTURING

PER CENT

INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS

100

TOTAL

80

I

I

I

60
100

I

NONDURABLE GOODS

PRIMARY PROCESSING

80
ADVANCED PROCESSING
DURABLE GOODS

I
1967

I

I

1970

I

I

I

1973

I

I
1976

I

I
1979

60

i i i i ri i
1970

t973

1976

1979

OUTPUT, CAPACITY AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION
Output and Capacity are Percentages of 1967 Output; Capacity Utilization is a Per Cent of Capacity.
Seasonally Adjusted

Manufacturing
MONTHLY CAPACITY U T I L I Z A T I O N
SERIES

1973|
HIGHl

\

8R.OI
1
1
93.81
1
85.51

MANUFACTURING* TOTAL
PRIMARY PROCESSING
ADVANCED PROCESSING

1975
inw

69.0

1978
.ILJI Y

1
—SEE*_ . .OCT...— MDV^- , .DECal
I
85.2
85.5
86.3
86.81
86.0
1
1
87.8
88.4
89.5
88.9
90.1)
1
83.6
84.0
84.5
84.3
85.01
f
CAOACITY
1

AUG.

8*. 8

68.2

87.5

69.4

83.4

OUTPUT
1978

1979

T

in
\

III

145.5

148.6

151.7| 153.4
1

153.01 173.3
1

174.5

PRIMARY PROCESSING

154.1

158.2

141.0

143.6

161.81 178.6
!
148.31 170.5
1

179.9

ADVANCED PROCESSING

162.21 162.1
1
146.lt 148.7
1

TI

FEB.

MAR,

_AP_*^

MAI.

JJJNF_

JULY.

86.4

86.7

87.1

85.3

86.3

86.0

85.6

88.6

88.6

87.8

87.9

87.8

88.2

85.5

86.2

*3.8

65.5

85.0

84.3

89.0
85.0

1
1979

1978

?T

MANUFACTURING, TOTAL

IV

1979

JAN.

IV

171.6

1979

1978

T

III

1
175,61 176.9
1
!
181.21 182.7
!
172.71 173.8
1

178.21
1
!
184.21
1
175.01
.,.,
1

TIT

UTILIZATION
ll_

111

IV

y
B6.7

83.9

85.2

86.4|

86.3

87.9

82.7

*3.7

88.7
89.51
!
84. 6|
85.6
i.

u
45.9

1
87.0
84.8

Industrial Materials
MONTHLY CAPACITY UTILIZATION
SERIES
MATERIALS, TOTAL
DURABLE GOODS MATERIALS

19731
HIGHl

1975

LOW

JUI Y

92.61
i

69.4

86.1

91.5!

METAL MATERIALS

1

98.2!

SEP.

OT.T.

NOV.

1
DF.C-1

86.8

67.6

*8.1

88.8!

1978

AUG.
86.4

94.51
j
95.11
I
92.6!
99.4|
95.51
!
1
94.61

TEX., PAPER, 6 CHEM. MAT.
TEXTILE MATERIALS
PAPER MATERIALS
CHEMICAL MATERIALS
ENERGY MATERIALS

63.6

84.5

85.1

85.7

86.6

68.6

89.1

91.1

92.5

87.?

146.7

DURABLE GOODS MATERIALS
METAL MATERIALS
NONDURABLE GOODS MATERIALS
TEX., PAPER, £ CHEM. M A T .
TEXTILE MATERIALS
PAPER MATERIALS
CHEMICAL MATERIALS
ENFRGY MATERIALS
NOTE:

|

88.4!

94.4

90.1!
I
90.21
I
87.81
87.0
93.9|
93.3
89.91
89.3
1
1
88.21
88.8
1
CAPACITY

67.2

87.5

87.7

88.7

89.1

65.3

87.6

87.0

88.8

88.9

57.9
72.4
64.2

84.6
91.8
87.2

84.8
88.5
87.2

85.6
93.5
88.4

87.7
93.1
88.2

84.8

88.5

88.1

86.5

88.4

1979
III

150.2

146.0

151.9

118.1

126.6

165.2

165.9

170.8

172.2

116.5
138.6
207.7

116.0
134.1
212.3

125.7

126.9

IV

I

1

154.61
1
I
157.3!
1
132.2]
1
I
170.3!
i
177.1!
i
119.5!
138.11
218.01
i
|
128.91
4

155.5
158.4
124.7
172.2
179.1
118.2
136.9
222.7
127.9

!
!
III
1
155.41
1
1
157.6!
|
124.21
1
1
173.31
1
181.21
|
118.31
140.41
225.21
1

127.8!
j

96.01
1
i

93.8

... .

MATERIALS, TOTAL

MAR.

APR.

MAI

JUNE

87.8

P8.3

R6.<?

87.3

97.3

87.2

87.3

87.0

87.5

85.4

«6. 1

96.8

8f.5

88.6

88.2

90.6

88.2

P7.0

90.1

-1ULX

!

OUTPUT
1978
IJ

FEB.

87.9

I
i

j

NONDURABLE GOODS MATERIALS

1979

JAN.

1978

II

172.5

89.5

89.4

89.8

90..0

89.6

89.7

*9.0

89.?

89.5

89.2

90.0

89.9

89.9

90.1

89.6

90.0

86.4
89.9
89.7

85.8
92.4
90.5

86.8
93.8
89.8

85.3
94.3
90.1

86.5
93.4
90.0

86.5
93.5
89.4

67.3

86.7

87.2

86.3

86.3

jl i
173.9

177.1

178.5

138.9

139.3

187.1

188.5

194.8

196.2

136.0
146.1
239.9

136.3
146.9
242.2

143.7

144.7

1979

IY

I
1
175.41 176.8
1
1
180.11 181.5
1
139.61 139.8
1

!
190.21 191.9
1
197.91 199.6
1
136.61 136.9
147.81 148.7
244.61 247.4
1

!

145.7!
. ,,. J

146.7

87.6

!
1
1IJ_

\
178.11
1
1
183.01
I
140.31
1
1
193.71
1
201.51
!
137.3!
149.9!
250.6!
|
I
147.51
1-

66.1

UTILIZATION
1978

II
85.0

1U
66.4

82.4

85.1

65.1

90.9

88.3

88.0

87.7

87.8

85.6
94.9
86.6

85.1
91.3
87.6

87.5

87.7

1979

iy

1

11

!
86.21
1
1
87.4!
1
94.71
!
1
80.6!
1
89.5!
1
87.51
93.4!
89.11
I
|
88.5!
. , I,.

88.0

87.2

87.3

86.1

89.1

88.4

89.7

89.4

89.7

89.9

86.3
92.0
90.0

86.1
93.7
89.0

87.2

86.6

ESTIMATES OF ACTUAL OUTPUT AND CAPACITY OUTPUT ARE BOTH EXPRESSED AS PERCENTAGES OF 1967 ACTUAL OUTPUT. ESTIMATES OF
CAPACITY UTILIZATION IN PERCENT ARE CALCULATED AS RATIOS OF (1) THE FEDERAL RESERVE'S SEASONALLY ADJUSTED INDEXES OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION TO (2) THE CORRESPONDING INDEXES OF CAPACITY. INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS ARF ITEMS BOTH PRODUCED ANO USPD AS INPUTS BY MANUFACTURING PLANTS, MINES AND UTILITIES; INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS COVER MANY OF THE ITEMS REPRESENTED IN THE ORIMAPY
PROCESSING GROUPING OF MANUFACTURING AS WELL AS SOME OF THE OUTPUT OF MINES AND UTILITIES — SUCH AS IRON ORE, CRUDE OIL, ANO
ELECTRICITY SOLD TO INDUSTRY.
THE 1973 HIGHS AND 1975 LOWS IN CAPACITY UTILIZATION, SHOWN IN THE TABLES ABOVE, ARE SPECIFIC TO EACH SERIES AND MAY OCCUR IN
DIFFERENT MONTHS. INDUSTRIAL PLANTS USUALLY OPERATE AT CAPACITY UTILIZATION RATES THAT ARE WELL BELOW 100 PERCENT? NONE OF
THE BROAD AGGREGATE SERIES HAS EVER INDICATED A 100 PERCENT USE OF CAPACITY. CAPACITY UTILIZATION RATES AVERAGED ABOUT 83
PERCENT FOR MANUFACTURING FROM 1955 THROUGH 1978, AND ABOUT 85 PERCENT FOR INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS FOR 1967 THROUGH 1978.
IN
MANUFACTURING AS A WHOLE, UTILIZATION RATES AS HIGH AS 90 PERCENT HAVE BEEN EXCEEDED ONLY IN WARTIME. THE PEAK RATES OF UTILIZATION IN 1973 WERE ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNIFICANT UPWARD PRESSURE ON PRICES.
THE METHODOLOGY AND THE SERIES ARE DESCRIBED IN EEOERAL RESERVE MEASURES QE CAEACilX AALD CAPACITY UT1LIIAIIOM* REVISED DATA
ARE FOUND IN "CAPACITY UTILIZATION: MANUFACTURING ANO MATERIALS, JANUARY 1967—DECEMBER 1978." BOTH PUBLICATIONS MAY BE OBTAINED FROM PUBLICATIONS SERVICES, BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM, WASHINGTON, D.C.
20551