Output from manufacturing in the United States slowed down in March; tariff clouds hung from factories
The Fed said on Wednesday that factory output rose by 0.3% last month. Economists who voted by Reuters predicted a 0.3% increase in output, after a 0.9% increase reported.
Factory production rose 1.0% in March. Manufacturing, which accounts for 10.2% of the economy’s economy, grew 5.1% in the first quarter after signing at a rate of 1.5% in the October-December quarter.
Import tariffs threaten abruptly end the initial recovery that emerged early in the year amid the U.S. central bank lowered interest rates.
Earlier this month, anecdotes from the Supply Management Institute conducted a frustrating assessment of the status of the business, with tariffs being the main factor for manufacturers.
Motor vehicle and parts production increased by 1.2% last month after a 9.2% acceleration in February. Durable manufacturing production increased by 0.6%, while aerospace and other transportation equipment production increased by 1.8%. The production of other lasting manufacturing commodities also benefits. With the increase in food, clothing, leather, chemicals, plastics and rubber products, the inevitable manufacturing production has almost no change. Mining production rose 0.6% after rebounding 1.7% in February. As temperatures warm, utility production fell by 5.8%, reducing the need for heating. Utilities output fell 1.5% in February.
Industrial production fell 0.3% after gaining 0.8% in February. It grew 1.3% year-on-year in March and grew at a rate of 5.5% in the first quarter.
Capacity utilization in the industrial sector, which measures how companies use their resources, dropped to 77.8% from 78.2% in February. It is 1.8 percentage points lower than the 1972-2024 average. The operational rate of manufacturing industry rose by 0.2 percentage points to 77.3%. It is 0.9 percentage points lower than its long-term average.
