US capacity utilization fell to 75.7% in March 2026, down from a downwardly revised 76.1% in February and below market expectations of 76.3%. The rate stands 3.7 percentage points below its long-run average for 1972–2025, with declines broad-based across sectors. The utilities sector saw the sharpest drop, with its operating rate falling to 70.3%, 13.7 percentage points below its historical average. Manufacturing utilization edged down to 75.3%, leaving it 2.9 percentage points below average, while mining utilization declined to 84.5%, or 0.7 percentage points below its long-run average. source: Federal Reserve

Capacity Utilization in the United States decreased to 75.70 percent in March from 76.10 percent in February of 2026. Capacity Utilization in the United States averaged 79.83 percent from 1967 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 89.40 percent in January of 1967 and a record low of 64.10 percent in April of 2020. This page provides the latest reported value for - United States Capacity Utilization - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. United States Capacity Utilization - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on April of 2026.

Capacity Utilization in the United States decreased to 75.70 percent in March from 76.10 percent in February of 2026. Capacity Utilization in the United States is expected to be 76.70 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the United States Capacity Utilization is projected to trend around 77.00 percent in 2027 and 76.80 percent in 2028, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-03-16 01:15 PM
Capacity Utilization
Feb 76.3% 76.3% 76.2% 76.0%
2026-04-16 01:15 PM
Capacity Utilization
Mar 75.7% 76.1% 76.3% 76.4%
2026-05-15 01:15 PM
Capacity Utilization
Apr 75.7%


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Capacity Utilization 75.70 76.10 percent Mar 2026
Car Production 9.98 10.23 Million Units Mar 2026
Industrial Production YoY 0.70 1.20 percent Mar 2026
Industrial Production MoM -0.50 0.70 percent Mar 2026
Manufacturing Production YoY 0.50 1.10 percent Mar 2026
Manufacturing Production MoM -0.10 0.40 Percent Mar 2026
Mining Production -0.20 2.00 percent Mar 2026


United States Capacity Utilization
Capacity utilization rate is used to measure the rate at which potential output levels are being met or used. The capacity indexes cover all facilities located in the United States, regardless of their ownership; and are constructed for 89 detailed industries (71 in manufacturing, 16 in mining, and 2 in utilities).
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
75.70 76.10 89.40 64.10 1967 - 2026 percent Monthly
Seasonally Adjusted

News Stream
US Capacity Utilization Falls Below Expectations
US capacity utilization fell to 75.7% in March 2026, down from a downwardly revised 76.1% in February and below market expectations of 76.3%. The rate stands 3.7 percentage points below its long-run average for 1972–2025, with declines broad-based across sectors. The utilities sector saw the sharpest drop, with its operating rate falling to 70.3%, 13.7 percentage points below its historical average. Manufacturing utilization edged down to 75.3%, leaving it 2.9 percentage points below average, while mining utilization declined to 84.5%, or 0.7 percentage points below its long-run average.
2026-04-16
US Capacity Utilization Holds Steady in February
US capacity utilization stood at 76.3% in February 2026, unchanged from the previous month and 3.1 percentage points below its long-run average for 1972–2025. In the manufacturing sector, utilization remained flat at 75.6%, which is 2.6 percentage points below its historical average. The operating rate in mining rose by 0.7 percentage points to 85.0%, while the utilities sector saw a 0.7-point decline to 73.0%. Despite the monthly increase, mining utilization remained 0.2 percentage points below its long-run average, while utilities operated at a rate 11.0 percentage points below theirs.
2026-03-16
US Capacity Utilization Hits 6-Month High
US capacity utilization increased to 76.2% in January 2026 from a downwardly revised 75.7% in December but slightly below analysts' forecasts of 76.5%. Despite remaining 3.2 percentage points below the 1972–2025 average, this was the strongest reading since July 2025. Capacity utilization for manufacturing increased 0.4 percentage points in January to 75.6%, a rate that is 2.6 percentage points below its long-run average. The operating rate for mining ticked down 0.1 percentage point to 84.4%, and the operating rate for utilities moved up 1.3 percentage points to 72.9%. The utilization rates for mining and utilities were 0.8 percentage points and 11.1 percentage points below their long-run averages, respectively.
2026-02-18