Production, manufacturing, utilities, and mining in the US indicated healthy growth in June though, their levels remain far below pre-pandemic volumes in February.
Industrial production rose by 5.4pc in June on the resumption of automotive production following April stoppages due to the pandemic, according to the Federal Reserve. This marks the second straight month of growth following a 1.4pc increase in May.
Despite the increase, industrial production lingers at 10.9pc under February’s pre-COVID-19 levels. Total industrial production was reduced by 10.8pc in June 2020 compared to the same month last year, also denoting 97.5pc of average 2012 levels.
Industrial production during Q2 2020 dropped by 42.6pc compared to the same quarter of 2019, reflecting the greatest quarterly decline since the industry segment cut back following World War II, based on data released by the Fed.
Factory output dropped by 47pc in Q2 compared to the same time period a year ago. Manufacturing production as a whole rose by 7.2pc in June, succeeding May’s increases of 3.8pc, however, it remained 11.1pc below February levels. The growth follows increases recorded by the main manufacturing sectors.
Automotive vehicles and parts recorded the largest improvement of 105pc in June compared with May but remained 25pc below February levels. All other factory output grew by 3.9pc in June.
The capacity utilization rate for manufacturing was 66.9pc in June an increase of 4.6pc compared to May and 3.2pc higher than its low recorded during the recession of June 2009. Capacity utilization rate in the industrial segment rose by 3.5pc to 68.6pc in June, which is 11.2pc less than the historical average for the period between 1972–2019, however, the Fed stated, the rate is 1.9pc above its low point during the Great Recession.
During Q2 2020, mining production dropped 42.7pc compared to the same quarter last year. Mining output dropped by 2.9pc in June, marking its fifth sequential monthly decrease, which signified declining oil well drilling. Indications for gas and oil well drilling dropped 18pc in June 2020 and was around 70pc lower than levels recorded in June 2019.
Utility production rose by 4.2pc in June following 3.5pc drops recorded in May, due to increases recorded by gas and electric utilities.