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In late 1999, the Federal Reserve published revised measures of industrial production (IP), capacity, and capacity utilization for the period January 1992 through October 1999. The production index for the third quarter of 1999 is now at 137.7 percent of output in 1992, compared with 135.2 percent reported before the annual revision, and the capacity index is 170.7 percent of output in 1992, compared with 167.9 percent reported previously. The rate of industrial capacity utilization-the ratio of production to capacity-was revised up 0. 1 percentage point, to 80.7 percent for the third quarter of 1999. See chart 1. (Summary data as of January 14, 2000, for total industry and manufacturing are shown in appendix tables A.1 and A.2.)
Total industrial output increased at an annual rate of 4.5 percent, on average, over 1995-99. The output of computers, semiconductors, and communications equipment accounted for more than half the growth. The rate of increase in the output and capacity of these industries is now estimated to have been more rapid than previously shown, especially in 1998. Apart from computers and semiconductors, industrial production increased about 2 percent annually over the period, with little change in 1998 and a gain of 1.8 percent in 1999 (table A.3).
The updated measures reflect both the incorporation of newly available, more comprehensive source data typical of annual revisions and the introduction of improved methods for compiling a few series. The new source data are for recent years, primarily from 1997 on, and the modified methods affect data beginning in 1992. In addition, the supplementary series on the gross value of products are now expressed in 1996 dollars; these series begin in 1977.
The updated IP measures included annual data from selected editions of the 1998 Current Industrial Reports of the Bureau of the Census and available preliminary data for about 15 percent of manufacturing from the 1997 Census of Manufactures. Annual data from the US. Geological Survey on metallic and nonmetallic minerals (except fuels) for 1997 and 1998 were also introduced. The updating included revisions to the monthly indicator for each industry (physical product data, production-worker hours, or electric power usage) and revised seasonal factors.
The revision introduced improved methods for measuring the production of computer and office equipment and of...