United States Capacity Utilization

Last Release

Dec 31, 2025

Actual

76.3

Units In

76.1

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Feb 18, 2026

Time to Release

1 Months 0 Days 0 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
89.4 Jan 1967	63.4 Apr 2020	79.89 %	1967-2025	Federal Reserve

Capacity utilization rate is used to measure the rate at which potential output levels are being met or used. The capacity indexes cover all facilities located in the United States, regardless of their ownership; and are constructed for 89 detailed industries (71 in manufacturing, 16 in mining, and 2 in utilities).

Latest Updates

US capacity utilization increased to 76.3% in December 2025, up from 76.1% in November and slightly above market expectations of 76.0%. Despite the modest improvement, the overall rate remained 3.2 percentage points below its long-run average for the period 1972–2024, indicating continued slack in productive capacity. Capacity utilization in the manufacturing sector was unchanged at 75.6%, standing 2.6 percentage points below its long-run average. Meanwhile, utilization in mining declined by 0.5 percentage point to 85.7%, while the utilities operating rate rose by 1.6 percentage points to 72.3%. Relative to historical norms, mining utilization remained 0.5 percentage point above its long-run average, whereas utilities utilization continued to be well below its long-run average.