In May 2025, industrial production in the United States dropped by 0.2% month-on-month, as reported by the Federal Reserve on Tuesday (June 17). This figure fell short of market expectations for a 0.1% increase, following a 0.1% rise in April and indicating a slowdown in factory operations.
Year-over-year, industrial output grew by 0.6%, yet it still fell below the anticipated 1.1%, signaling a wider deceleration in industrial activity.
On a brighter note, manufacturing output saw a slight increase of 0.1% in May, outperforming the projected 0.1% decline. Annually, manufacturing production rose by 0.5%, which was lower than the expected 0.9% increase predicted by economists.
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In terms of capacity utilization, which gauges how effectively firms are utilizing their resources, there was a decline to 77.4% in May, down from 77.7% in April and also below the consensus estimate of 77.7%.
US retail sales, export prices disappoint in May
In the US, retail sales fell more than anticipated in May, declining by 0.9% month-on-month versus a forecast of -0.4%, indicating a potential decrease in consumer demand.
When viewed year-over-year, retail sales increased by 3.3%, missing the expected growth of 4.9%. This data suggests that US households might be reducing discretionary spending due to high interest rates and economic uncertainty.
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Export prices saw a decrease of 0.9% month-on-month, falling significantly short of the predicted 0.1% increase, while import prices stayed unchanged against an expected 0.1% rise. Annually, export and import prices matched forecasts at 1.7% and 0.2%, respectively.
