Courtesy of Pam Martens.
Capacity Utilization (Chart Courtesy of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)
By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: August 18, 2016
Since the Wall Street crash in 2008 crippled the U.S. economy, Congress has played the role of a spectator at a big league baseball game – munching on popcorn and licking its greasy fingers soiled with corporate campaign loot – as the real players on the field, the Federal Reserve, controlled the action.
The above chart shows the steady erosion of Capacity Utilization in the U.S. since Congress surrendered its job to the deeply conflicted Fed. The chart comes courtesy of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, which defines Total Industry Capacity Utilization this way:
“the percentage of resources used by corporations and factories to produce goods in manufacturing, mining, and electric and gas utilities for all facilities located in the United States (excluding those in U.S. territories).”
In November 2007, prior to the onset of the crash, Capacity Utilization stood at 80.9 percent. Last month it clocked in at 75.9 percent. It has been on a sharp decline since November 2014.
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