Production slips a little more

Total U.S. chemical production fell in November for the third straight month, according to seasonally adjusted data from the Federal Reserve Board. The figures show the chemical production index slipped 0.3% from October to 111.0 (2002 = 100). The November index was up 4.0% from the same month in 2005. Meanwhile, the index for basic chemicals increased 0.9% from October to 116.0 and was 10.8% ahead of the previous November. Capacity utilization for all chemicals fell slightly to a seasonally adjusted 78.6% in November from 78.9% in the previous month. In November a year earlier, capacity use was 76.3%.