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Industrial production declined 0.5% in March, while manufacturing output ticked down 0.1% after moving up 0.4% in February. At 97.3% of its 2017 average, manufacturing production advanced 0.5% from March 2025. Capacity utilization for manufacturing was 75.3%, down 0.2 percentage points from February but up 1.1% over the past year. Capacity utilization remained 2.9 percentage points below its long-term average from 1972 to 2025.

In March, production for most major market groups slowed. Consumer goods production decreased 1.0%, while business equipment output ticked down 0.3%. The contraction in consumer durables (down 1.8%) was led by the output of automotive products falling 2.8%. Meanwhile, the index for consumer nondurables moved down 0.8%, led by a drop in the index for clothing (down 1.0%). Among business equipment, the 2.2% decrease in transit equipment led the decline. At the same time, the index for materials edged down 0.6%, while the index for construction supplies rose 0.4% and the index for business supplies ticked down 0.1%.

Durable goods manufacturing fell 0.2% in March but increased 1.8% from the year prior. The largest monthly decline occurred in motor vehicles and parts (down 3.7%), while electrical equipment, appliances and components registered the largest gain (up 1.1%). Meanwhile, led by a 2.3% decrease in printing and support output, nondurable manufacturing edged down 0.1% in March and 0.6% from March 2025.