US Industrial Capacity Utilization Steady at 77.4% in August

2025-09-16 13:22 By Dongting Liu 1 min. read

US capacity utilization remained unchanged at 77.4% in August 2025, matching a revised July reading and in line with market expectations.

The overall rate sits 2.2 percentage points below its long-term average (1972–2024).

In the manufacturing sector, capacity utilization edged up 0.1 point to 76.8%, still 1.4 points below its historical norm.

The mining sector saw a 0.7-point gain to 90.6%, standing 4.1 points above its long-run average.

However, the utilities sector slipped 1.6 points to 68.6%, staying well below its long-term average.



News Stream
US Capacity Utilization Edges Up
US capacity utilization rose to 76.2% in May 2026, up from 76.1% in February and in line with market expectations. Manufacturing utilization remained largely unchanged at 75.7%, remaining below its long-run averge of 78.2%. Mining utilization rose to 86.5%, 1.3 percentage points above its long-run average, while the rate for utilities fell to 70.6%, remained substantially below its long-run average, at 13.4 percentage points lower. Meanwhile, the operating rate for mining increased by 1.2 percentage points to 86.5%, while the utilities operating rate declined to 70.6%.
2026-06-15
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