US Industrial Production September 2026

The US Industrial Production report for August 2026 is released on Friday, September 18, 2026 at 9:15 am ET (2:15 pm London) by the Federal Reserve Board, under its G.17 statistical release. The report covers industrial output data for August 2026. Full schedule and background: US Industrial Production.

What is industrial production?

Industrial production measures the physical output of factories, mines and utilities across the United States. The Federal Reserve compiles the index from data on electricity used by industrial customers, hours worked in manufacturing, and physical unit output such as tonnes of steel, barrels of oil and vehicles assembled. The index is set to a base of 100 in 2017, so a reading of 103.0 means output is 3.0% higher than the 2017 average.

The release also publishes capacity utilization, which shows what proportion of a factory’s, mine’s or utility’s total sustainable output is actually being used. A rising utilization rate can signal that firms are running close to their limits, which sometimes precedes new investment or, if labour and materials are scarce, upward pressure on prices.

Markets watch this data because it is one of the more direct, “hard” measures of real economic activity, in contrast to survey-based indicators such as purchasing managers’ indexes. Central banks, including the Federal Reserve, use it alongside employment and spending data to judge whether the economy is expanding, stalling or overheating.

When is the August 2026 industrial production report released?

The Federal Reserve Board publishes the G.17 release at 9:15 am ET (2:15 pm London time) on Friday, September 18, 2026. It is published on the Federal Reserve’s G.17 statistical release page. The Fed’s 2026 publication calendar places this release consistently in the third week of the month, following the same monthly rhythm used throughout the year.

What is the consensus forecast?

As of this writing, a consensus forecast for the August 2026 release has not yet been published. Forecaster surveys such as the Action Economics Forecast Survey and Trading Economics typically firm up in the days before the release, once more monthly indicators such as manufacturing hours and vehicle assemblies are available.

The most recent published reading, for July 2026, showed industrial production and manufacturing output each growing 0.2% on the month, following 0.3% growth in June, according to the Federal Reserve’s G.17 release. Capacity utilization edged up to 76.3% in July, which the Fed noted is 3.1 percentage points below its long-run average from 1972 to 2025.

What the result could mean

These are possibilities discussed by economists, not predictions of the actual outcome.

Why does this release matter right now?

Industrial output growth has been uneven through 2026. Data compiled by Haver Analytics show industrial production rose at a 4.0% annualised rate in the second quarter of 2026, after a slower 1.1% annualised pace in the first quarter. Monthly moves have swung between a 0.7% to 0.9% gain in April 2026 and a 0.3% decline in March 2026, according to Federal Reserve releases, reflecting choppy demand for durable goods and shifting energy and mining output.

Manufacturing, which makes up around 78% of the total industrial production index according to Trading Economics, has been supported this year by investment tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure and data centre buildouts, a trend highlighted by IBISWorld and Capital Economics. At the same time, tariffs on imported inputs and elevated oil prices have been cited as headwinds. The Federal Reserve is watching this data as part of its broader assessment of whether the economy can absorb its recent interest rate decisions without a sharp slowdown in output or jobs.

What It Means for Your Money

• Mortgages and borrowing rates: Industrial production does not move mortgage rates directly, but a run of weak readings can add to expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates further, which tends to pull down longer-term borrowing costs over time.
• Savings: If the data feeds into a weaker growth narrative and lower rate expectations, savings account and fixed-deposit rates in the US, and potentially globally as central banks watch each other, could drift lower in the following months.
• Jobs and wages: Factories, mines and utilities employ millions of workers. A sustained fall in industrial output has historically preceded softer hiring in manufacturing-heavy regions of the US, and by extension in supplier countries in Asia and Europe.
• Prices: Very high capacity utilization can be an early sign of price pressure, since factories running near their limits may raise prices rather than lose orders. Conversely, spare capacity tends to keep goods price inflation contained.
• Investments, pensions and currencies: Industrial shares and broader US equity indices can react to surprises in this data, particularly manufacturing-heavy names. A weaker than expected reading can also weigh on the dollar if it strengthens expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts, with knock-on effects for the pound and euro exchange rates against the dollar.

Recent industrial production readings

Source: Federal Reserve G.17 statistical releases and Haver Analytics coverage of the underlying data.

Related events

• US retail sales, which is released around the same time each month and offers a demand-side complement to this supply-side measure of output.
• The ISM Manufacturing PMI, a survey-based indicator published earlier each month that often foreshadows the direction of industrial production.
• The next Federal Reserve interest rate decision, since policymakers weigh industrial output alongside employment and inflation data when setting rates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What time is the August 2026 industrial production report released?

It is released at 9:15 am ET, which is 2:15 pm in London, on Friday, September 18, 2026.

How should I read the industrial production index?

Focus on the month-on-month percentage change and the capacity utilization rate, and compare both to their recent trend rather than looking at a single month in isolation.

Does this report move interest rate expectations?

It can, particularly if it comes in far from consensus, because the Federal Reserve treats industrial output as one gauge of overall economic momentum when deciding on interest rates.

Where can I find the official release?

The Federal Reserve Board publishes the G.17 release on its official G.17 statistical release page.

When is the next industrial production report after this one?

The Federal Reserve typically publishes the following month’s data in the third week of the subsequent month, continuing its established monthly schedule.