Industrial Production Edged Up in February
16 March 2019 - 12:45AM
Dow Jones News
By Sarah Chaney and Paul Kiernan
WASHINGTON--U.S. industrial output rose slowly in February while
manufacturing output declined for the second consecutive month,
signaling a global economic slowdown is putting pressure on the
U.S. manufacturing sector.
Industrial production, a measure of factory, mining and utility
output, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in February from the
prior month, the Federal Reserve said Friday. This undershot
economists' expectations for a 0.3% gain last month.
Last month's production rise was driven in large part by a 3.7%
increase in utilities, a category subject to weather fluctuations.
It also likely reflects some recovery from a weak January, when
industry output fell a revised 0.4%.
But manufacturing, which accounts for nearly three-fourths of
the nation's industrial production, remained on shaky footing last
month. Output at all U.S. factories decreased 0.4% after falling
0.5% in January. The decline was spread across multiple sectors,
with output of machinery, electronics and apparel all dropping.
Economists are increasingly worried that recent trends in global
industry, and a slowing world economy more broadly, will filter
into the U.S. manufacturing industry.
While recent Commerce Department figures showed domestic demand
for manufactured goods remains solid, other measures have shown
some cooling. The Institute for Supply Management said its measure
of factory-sector activity weakened in February, and hiring in the
sector has also slowed, according to the Labor Department.
Friday's report showed mining output ticked up 0.3% in
February.
Capacity utilization, which reflects how much industries are
producing compared with what they could potentially produce, edged
down to 78.2% in February from 78.3% a month earlier. Capacity
utilization has remained below long-run averages. Economists had
expected a utilization rate of 78.4%.
Write to Sarah Chaney at sarah.chaney@wsj.com and Paul Kiernan
at paul.kiernan@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 15, 2019 09:30 ET (13:30 GMT)
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