U.S. industrial production up 1% in September
WASHINGTON—Industrial production rebounded strongly in September, a sign that a key sector of the U.S. economy held steady ahead of recent market worry over slowing global growth.
Industrial production, which measures the output of U.S. manufacturers, utilities and mines, rose 1% in September and may have been boosted by warmer weather, the Federal Reserve said Thursday. It was the largest monthly increase since May 2010 and followed a decline of 0.2% in August, which had initially been reported as a decline of 0.1%.
Capacity utilization rose to 79.3% in September, the highest level since June 2008. Higher capacity use is often a precursor to stronger business spending. That level is still slightly below its long-run average of 80.1%.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast output to rise 0.4% and a utilization rate of 79%.
The report exceeded expectations in part due to big contributions from utilities, which rose 3.9% in September amid a boost in electricity production. That may have reflected unusually high demand for air conditioning in a warmer September that followed a relatively cool August, the Fed said.
Production was also lifted by a 1.8% monthly gain in mining. That sector, which includes oil drilling, is up 9.1% from a year earlier.
Still, manufacturing output, the largest and most closely watched component of the overall production figure, rose 0.5% in September following a decline of 0.5% in August. Car production dropped 1.4% in September, following a 7% decline in August and a 9.4% jump in July. Excluding that more volatile sector, factory output rose 0.6% in September.
