Industrial production is a measure of the physical output of the nation's factories, mines and utilities. The capacity utilization rate reflects the usage of available resources.

Industrial production shows how much factories, mines and utilities are producing. Since the manufacturing sector is estimated to account for one-quarter of the economy, this report can sometimes have a big impact on the stock and financial markets movement.

The capacity utilization rate provides an estimate of how much factory capacity is in use. If the utilization rate gets too high (above 85%) it can lead to inflationary pressures.