Industrial production, producer prices up-slightly

Manufacturing production drops

Paul Teague -- Purchasing, 11/17/2009 2:10:35 PM

The Federal Reserve reported today that industrial production in the U.S. continued its climb upward in October-barely. The agency said production went up a mere 0.1 percent. Average monthly gains over the last three months have been about 0.9 percent.
Manufacturing production moved down 0.1 percent and the output of mines decreased 0.2 percent, but the index for utilities rose 1.6 percent. Capacity utilization for total industry moved up 0.2 percentage point to 70.7 percent, a rate 10.2 percentage points below its average for 1972 through 2008. Capacity utilization for manufacturing was unchanged at 67.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the Producer Price Index for Finished Goods grew 0.3 percent in October. The PPI had dropped in September by 0.6-percent, but had risen 1.7-percent in August. Analysts say the high rate of unemployment and tight credit are among factors behind the numbers.