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Industrial production picked up in January after the slight contraction in December, driven mainly by the utilities sector.
Source: Federal Reserve
Total industry production grew by 1.4%, indicating a rebound from the -0.1$ in December. Production growth from January 2021 to the same month this year was recorded at 4.1%.
The utilities sector recorded production growth of 9.9%, followed by the mining sector which grew by 1.0%, and manufacturing which inched up by 0.2%. Both utilities and manufacturing posted a contraction in the previous month.
In terms of market groups, consumer groups recorded the biggest climb with 2.2%, followed by materials with 1.5% and business equipment up by 0.1%. The only decline was recorded in construction which fell by 1.3%.
Total industry production for the month was 2.1% higher than the levels in February 2020 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, with capacity utilization for the industrial sector up 1.0 percentage points to 77.6%.
An increase was recorded in appliances, furniture, and carpeting, while a decline was recorded in automotive products and in miscellaneous goods.
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