Just as the American Bankers Association reported that creditcard delinquency has hit its lowest point in years, Equifax is reporting thatconsumers continued to cut their credit lines in 2012.

Total consumer credit card debt was $603.4 billion in January2013, down 0.85% from January of the previous year, according tonew Credit Trends Report data from Equifax, one of thethree major national credit reporting bureaus.

By comparison, the total consumer credit card debt declined by1.56% between January 2011 and January 2012.

The credit bureau reported that all major metropolitan areasacross the country saw a decline with only consumers in Houstonincreasing the amount of credit they carried.

Equifax also reported that not only are consumers declining toadd to the credit they already have, they are also underusing thecredit lines they have as well.

Credit card utilization — the percentage of the credit limitthat people have used– has declined during the past twoJanuaries.

Credit card utilization was 21.97% in January 2013, down from22.62% in January 2012 and 24.09 % in January 2011. The declinesoccurred in all of the top 25 metro areas, as well as the countryas a whole.

“These new reports, along with other data we have examined oncredit scores and total consumer debt, tell the story thatconsumers continue to be disciplined in their borrowing,” said TreyLoughran, president of the Personal Solutions division at Equifax.“It is particularly interesting to look at January data, as thatmonth always has the highest consumer credit card debt totals, withmany consumers experiencing a bit of a 'hangover' from holidayspending,” Loughran said. “We expect this 'disciplined consumer'trend to continue for a while. Even as the economy improves, peopleremain cautious about taking on new debt.”