U.S. Industrial Production Exceeds Forecasts with 0.4% Surge in December

The Federal Reserve’s latest economic data reveals stronger-than-anticipated momentum in America’s industrial sector. Released this week, the report showed industrial production advanced 0.4 percent during December, a performance that significantly outpaced economist predictions of just 0.1 percent growth.

Utilities Lead the Way

The outsized gains primarily stemmed from a robust rebound in utilities, where output skyrocketed 2.6 percent after experiencing a modest 0.3 percent pullback the previous month. This sector’s resilience proved instrumental in driving the overall industrial expansion.

Mixed Signals Across Other Sectors

The picture becomes more nuanced when examining the manufacturing and mining segments. Manufacturing output edged higher by 0.2 percent in December, following a stronger 0.3 percent increase in November. Meanwhile, mining operations moved in the opposite direction, contracting by 0.7 percent after posting a substantial 1.7 percent jump in the prior month.

Capacity Utilization Uptick

Complementing the production gains, the industrial sector’s capacity utilization climbed to 76.3 percent in December from 76.1 percent in November—another upside surprise that exceeded the unchanged reading economists had anticipated. Breaking down by sector: utilities capacity utilization reached 72.3 percent, manufacturing maintained its 75.6 percent level, and mining slipped to 85.7 percent.

The data underscores persistent strength in certain economic pockets, though the divergence between sectors signals an uneven recovery across different industrial segments.