FX.co ★ US Manufacturing Output Rises Most in a Year

In February 2025, manufacturing output in the United States experienced a notable increase of 0.9%, marking the highest growth in a year and significantly surpassing market forecasts of 0.3%. The durable manufacturing sector saw a robust rise of 1.6%, spearheaded by the motor vehicles and parts category, with most other durable manufacturing categories also recording gains. In contrast, the nondurable manufacturing sector grew by a modest 0.2%, where an uptick in chemical production counterbalanced declines in the food, beverage, and tobacco sectors. However, the index for publishing and logging fell slightly by 0.1%. Additionally, capacity utilization in manufacturing rose by 0.6 percentage points, reaching 77%. Despite this improvement, it remains 1.2 percentage points below the long-term average spanning from 1972 to 2024.