A Weak Recovery Still Looks Comparatively Good INDUSTRIAL production in the United States has returned to its prerecession level, nearly six years after the downturn began and more than three years after the recession officially ended. The Federal Reserve reported this week that the index of industrial production rose to 101.28 in November, a gain of 1.1 percent from October. It was the first time the figure had risen above the 100.82 level of December 2007, the month the recession officially began. Such a performance is hardly impressive, given that before the current cycle the only times industrial production did that poorly over such a period was during the Great Depression and in the years after World War II, when the country was demobilizing and ending or sharply reducing weapons production. But it stands out among advanced economies, as can be seen from the accompanying charts. The latest composite figure for advanced economies shows production at about 7 percent below the predownturn level - a level that has not changed much since 2011. Moreover, the recovery seems to have halted in Germany while the decline has resumed in some of the less competitive euro zone economies. A significant part of the United States recovery is a result of increased energy production, a development that is not cyclical but is instead related to the boom in shale gas production, which has driven down the price of natural gas. That price decline, in turn, has helped increase production in other areas, where lower energy costs improve the competitiveness of American companies. Over all, production of business equipment fell much more rapidly than did production of consumer goods when the recession was at its worst. But since then business equipment has recovered fully while consumer goods are still being produced at a rate below that of 2007. Two of the most cyclical areas of the economy show sharply different courses. Production of motor vehicles and parts plunged by more than half from the prerecession level, hitting bottom in early 2009, when declining values of stocks and real estate led Americans to avoid the risk of buying a new car. Since then, however, production has more than doubled from the low, and climbed in November to the highest level ever, 14 percent above the prerecession level. Measured by number of vehicles, the government said that United States production climbed in November to an annual rate of 11.6 million vehicles, more than triple the level of January 2009 and the highest since April 2006. Construction supplies production did not fall as rapidly as did motor vehicle production. But it has recovered only half of the decline, reflecting the continuing weakness in construction activity. Internationally, only Germany among the countries shown is close to recovering all the losses since the end of 2007. In Italy, production has fallen back to where it is only a little higher than it was at the low point in 2009. In Spain, production is well below 2009 levels, although it has recovered a little this year. The decline in Britain was not as large, but production there, too, is now lower than it was in 2009. Not shown in the charts is that industrial production has completely recovered in many emerging economies. The latest figures indicate production in India and South Korea is about 20 percent above where it was at the end of 2007. In China, the latest figure is about 90 percent higher than it was before the United States recession began. Thus, while the United States recovery looks good compared with those of most other advanced economies, it is far from impressive relative to past recessions, let alone to the performance of some emerging economies.