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%.

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.

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.