US industrial output up

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Manufacturing News, Source : The Manufacturer US
Published : 21 Jan 2010 16:44

Total US industrial output rose by 0.6 per cent in December but wasn’t helped by a 0.1 per cent drop in manufacturing production, the Federal Reserve has revealed.

The overall rise was mostly due to a 5.9 per cent increase in oil and gas output, inspired by the cold snap.

The slight decline in manufacturing output follows a 0.9 per cent rise in November. For the fourth quarter ad a whole, manufacturing output is up 5.7 per cent year on year.

US manufacturing plants are currently running at 68.6 percent of their capacity. This is 11 per cent below the average, recorded between 1972 and 2008. For the fourth quarter as a whole, manufacturing output increased at an annual rate of 5.7 percent.

Production of consumer goods was up 0.6 per cent in December but consumer durables were 0.9 per cent down. Production of defence and space equipment fell 0.3 per cent.