Chemical Output Slips In January

Total U.S. chemical production in January fell slightly from both the previous month and January a year earlier, according to seasonally adjusted data from the Federal Reserve Board. The chemical production index for January was 108.4 (2002 = 100), down 0.7% from December and off 0.6% from January 2006. The basic chemical index, meanwhile, declined 1.2% from December to 112.7 but was unchanged from the year-earlier month. The government's seasonally adjusted estimate of chemical capacity utilization in the first month of the new year was 76.7%, off from 77.3% in December and 77.8% in January 2006.