July 17, 2026
Industrial production rose 0.1% in both May and June. In the past year industrial production has risen 1.1%.
Breaking industrial production down into its three basic categories — manufacturing, mining, and utilities — manufacturing production was unchanged in June after rising 0.1% in May. In the past year manufacturing output has risen 1.1%.
Motor vehicle sector production climbed 0.7% in June after gaining 1.8% in May.. This category is very volatile on a month-to-month basis. In the past year motor vehicle production has risen 1.2%.
Excluding the motor vehicle sector, manufacturing output fell 0.1% in June after having been unchanged in May. In the past year it has risen 1.1%. This is probably the most accurate barometer of growth in the manufacturing sector in May — a slow, gradually rising trend.
High tech production rose 0.5% in June after gaining 1.8% in May after having jumped 1.4% in April. High tech production has risen 11.0% in the past year, but has accelerated to a 14.9% pace in the past three months.. This is the strongest part of the industrial production report. It has a rapidly rising trend. We would suggest that if firms are unable to find an adequate supply of workers, they will turn to technology in an effort to boost production and satisfy the demand for their products. At the same time firms are all experimenting with AI in an effort to figure out how it might help them boost productivity. Thus, we expect high tech production to continue to climb rapidly in the months ahead which should boost productivity growth.
Mining (14%) output rose 0.4% in June after increasing 1.1% in May Mining has risen 28.3% in the past year. This increase has been led by a resurgence in oil and gas machinery production.
Utilities output rose 0.4% in June after falling 0.7% in May. Over the past year utility output has risen 0.3%. This component is extremely volatile from month-to-month as the weather fluctuates.
Capacity utilization in the manufacturing sector fell 0.1% in June to 75.7% after having been unchanged in May. The utilization rate is below the 77.4% level that is generally regarded as effective full capacity utilization.
Stephen Slifer
NumberNomics
Charleston, SC
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