US Capacity Utilization Stable for Third Month

2026-07-17 13:30 By Larissa Caser 1 min. read

US capacity utilization stood at 76.1% in June 2026, unchanged from the previous month following a downward revision and slightly below market expectations of 76.2%.

The reading marked a third consecutive month of stable capacity utilization, remaining 3.3 percentage points below its long-run average for 1972–2025.

Among the major sectors, the operating rate for utilities edged up 0.2 percentage points to 69.5%, though it remained 14.5 percentage points below its historical average.

Mining utilization also increased, rising 0.4 percentage points to 87.4%.

By contrast, manufacturing capacity utilization edged down to 75.7%, remaining 2.5 percentage points below its long-run average.



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US Capacity Utilization Stable for Third Month
US capacity utilization stood at 76.1% in June 2026, unchanged from the previous month following a downward revision and slightly below market expectations of 76.2%. The reading marked a third consecutive month of stable capacity utilization, remaining 3.3 percentage points below its long-run average for 1972–2025. Among the major sectors, the operating rate for utilities edged up 0.2 percentage points to 69.5%, though it remained 14.5 percentage points below its historical average. Mining utilization also increased, rising 0.4 percentage points to 87.4%. By contrast, manufacturing capacity utilization edged down to 75.7%, remaining 2.5 percentage points below its long-run average.
2026-07-17
US Capacity Utilization Edges Up
US capacity utilization rose to 76.2% in May 2026, up from 76.1% in April 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