- 18 April 2008 -
U.S. Industrial Production
Inches Up in March

A newly released report from the Federal Reserve showed U.S. industrial production rose 0.3% in March, despite projections forecasting a decline.

Output of U.S. factories, mines, and utilities all rose last month, on the heels of a 0.7% decline in output in February. (Mining production rose 0.9%, while utilities' output rose 1.9%.) The higher-than-expected industrial output number was led by a 0.5% increase in production of nondurable consumer goods. Food and tobacco production output increased 1.5%, and non-energy nondurables rose 0.9%. Production of business equipment rose 0.6%, and business supplies rose 0.7%. Additionally, capacity utilization, which measures the proportion of plants in use, rose to 80.5%, and cooler temperatures in March boosted utility output, while demand from overseas may have helped U.S. factories offset declining domestic orders.

On the flip side, production of durable consumer goods fell 2.1% for the month, as auto production dropped by 4.8%.