US capacity utilization rose to 76.2% in January 2026, up from a downwardly revised 75.7% in December, but came in below analysts’ expectations of 76.5%.
Within the major sectors, manufacturing capacity utilization increased by 0.4 percentage points to 75.6%, remaining 2.6 percentage points under its long‑run average for 1972–2025. The operating rate for mining edged down 0.1 percentage point to 84.4%, while the rate for utilities climbed 1.3 percentage points to 72.9%. Even so, utilization in mining and utilities stayed 0.8 percentage points and 11.1 percentage points, respectively, beneath their historical averages.
