Industrial production fell 0.3 percent in September amid a strike at Boeing and two hurricanes causing damage in the Southeast, according to the Federal Reserve.
In mid-September, more than 33,000 machinists at aircraft maker Boeing, the majority of whom are in the Seattle metropolitan area, went on strike, their first in 16 years. The strike temporarily halted production of Boeing’s 767, 777 and 737 jets. On Oct. 19, Boeing announced an end to the strike, which included 35 percent raises.
At 102.6 percent of its 2017 average, total industrial production was 0.6 percent under its year-earlier mark in September. Industrial capacity utilization fell to 77.5 percent last month, 2.2 percentage points under its average from 1972-2023.
Manufacturing output fell 0.4 percent. Manufacturing capacity utilization fell by 0.4 percentage points in September to 76.7 percent, 1.6 percentage points under its long-term average. The mining index dropped 0.6 percent as the impacts of Hurricanes Milton and Helene on oil and gas extraction more than offset increases in other categories.
The index for utilities increased 0.7 percent. The production of durable consumer goods fell 1 percent, while a 1.7 percent increase in energy goods sparked a half-percent rise in the index for nondurables. The output of business equipment fell 3.5 percent, which was caused by a 14.2 percent drop in the production of transit equipment from the Boeing strike, according to the Federal Reserve.
The production of nondurable goods increased 0.2 percent, as rises in the indexes of chemicals and of petroleum and coal products outweighed drops in the indexes of textile and product mills along with leather and apparel.
The operating rate for mining fell by 0.4 percentage points to 88.7 percent, while the utilities operating rate increased 0.3 percentage points to 71.2 percent. “The rate for mining was 2.2 percentage points above its long-term average, while the rate for utilities remained substantially below its long-run average,” according to the Federal Reserve.