Industrial Production Jumps in November

Washington, DC, December 15, 2005–Industrial production rose sharply for the second straight month after a dip in September as a result of the Gulf Coast hurricanes, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday.

Industrial output rose 0.7% in November and a revised 1.3% in October, erasing the 1.6% drop in September.

The recovery of the petrochemical and energy-related industries boosted production in the past two months, the Fed said.

Capacity utilization rose to 80.2% in November from a revised 79.8%. This is the highest level since August.

The gains in output and capacity use in November were larger than expected. Economists were expecting production to rise 0.5% and capacity utilization to rise to 79.7%, according to a survey conducted by MarketWatch.

Production in October had been initially estimated as a 0.9% gain.

Production is up 2.8% in the past 12 months.

Manufacturing output rose 0.3% in November.

Production of petroleum and coal products rose 5.8% in November after a 1.2% drop in the previous month.

Chemical production rose 2.0% in November, on top of a 1.9% gain in October.

There was a sharp 4.8% increase in mining output, which includes oil and gas extraction, while the output of utilities rose 0.3%.

Production of motor vehicles and parts fell 4.8% in November, for the second straight monthly decrease.

Industrial production, excluding autos, rose 1.1% in November after a 1.4% gain in October.

Production of high-tech goods jumped 2.6% in November after a 1.1% gain in the previous month.

Production of consumer goods fell 0.8% in November after a 0.1% decline in the previous month.

The output of consumer durables dropped 2.9%, while the index for consumer nondurables inched up 0.1%.