US Industrial Production Moderate but Growing July 2026 (A Good Entrepreneurial Idea and the Tommyknockers)

 Manufacturing is the ability of a country to develop and foster economic growth through its manufacturing sector. Ideas are invented and products are developed, often through significant research and development. Other times, innovation can happen much more simply. Someone might be working in their kitchen, experimenting with something, and suddenly come up with a great idea. That is part of how innovation works.

(Illustrative Only)

Tovo heads to
start his mining
robot business
where he creates prototypes
on mainstreet. He figured
that if are some
restrictions on foreign 
robots he could 
build them and scale
locally at the industry
center using many
locally sourced materials. 

He is not neglectful
of giving back
to the Tommnyknockers.
(Can you see them in the woods?)
😟😏

As a side note: I should
try and create stories within
stories to sort of increase
cognitive reach.

The next challenge is taking that idea and scaling it. This is where manufacturing becomes important. Once a product has been developed and tested, the country needs the capacity to manufacture it efficiently and at scale. Having that manufacturing capacity is an important component of economic development.

The current manufacturing report is not bad. Manufacturing is growing, although not particularly quickly. Business equipment is an especially important area because producing business equipment places a country in the center of supply chains and can create significant economic value.

Capacity utilization has also increased, but it remains below its long-term average. This generally indicates that there is excess manufacturing capacity available. In other words, manufacturers could potentially produce more if there were sufficient demand for their products.

That leads to a broader question: How do we get other countries and customers to purchase our products? Cost and manufacturing capacity are only part of the equation. Geopolitical relationships, international trade policies, product quality, and brand reputation also influence whether customers will buy those products.

Overall, the manufacturing picture appears relatively stable. The issue is not necessarily whether we have the capacity to manufacture products. The larger challenge is whether we can manufacture them competitively and develop new customers and markets willing to buy them.

U.S. Industrial Production Shows Continued Moderate Growth

• U.S. industrial production increased 0.2% in July 2026, following a 0.3% increase in June. Total industrial production was 1.1% higher than in July 2025.
• Manufacturing production also increased 0.2% in July. Manufacturing excluding motor vehicles and parts performed somewhat better, increasing 0.4%.
• Business equipment production was a strong area of growth, rising 0.8% in July and 6.6% over the previous year, suggesting continued investment in productive capacity.
• Capacity utilization edged up to 76.3% for total industry and 76.0% for manufacturing. However, both remained below their long-run averages, indicating that substantial productive capacity remains available.
• The results present a mixed but generally stable manufacturing picture. Durable-goods production increased 0.7%, while nondurable-goods production declined 0.4%; mining and utilities also posted modest increases.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. (2026, August 18). Industrial production and capacity utilization—G.17. https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g17/current/default.htm