Even as overall U.S. industrial production slipped two-tenths of a percent in April, U.S. manufacturing output was unchanged from March, the Federal Reserve Board reported on May 17. The output of the nation's mines also was unchanged in April. But utility output, which along with manufacturing and mining determines overall industrial output, fell 2.3% last month.
Capacity utilization among U.S. manufacturers slipped a tenth of a percent to 77.9% in April. U.S. mines operated at 88.9% of capacity in April, up a tenth of a percent from March, while utilities operated at 83.7% of capacity, down two percentage points from March. U.S. industry overall operated at 79.2% of capacity in April, two-tenths of a percent below March's 79.4%.
