Industrial production in the United States rebounded more robustly than anticipated in August, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve on Tuesday.
The Federal Reserve indicated that industrial production surged by 0.8 percent in August, following a revised decline of 0.9 percent in July. Economists had forecasted a more modest increase of 0.2 percent, compared to the initially reported 0.6 percent decrease for the previous month.
The unexpectedly strong recovery in industrial production was driven by a 0.9 percent increase in manufacturing output in August, reversing a 0.7 percent decline in July. Notably, motor vehicles and parts output spearheaded the recovery, soaring by nearly 10 percent in August after a precipitous drop of approximately 9 percent in July.
Additionally, mining output rose by 0.8 percent in August, recovering from a 0.4 percent dip in July, while utilities output remained unchanged in August after plummeting by 3.0 percent in July.
The report also highlighted that capacity utilization in the industrial sector increased to 78.0 percent in August, up from a downwardly revised 77.4 percent in July. Economists had predicted a slight uptick in capacity utilization to 77.9 percent, from the originally reported 77.8 percent in the previous month.
Capacity utilization in the manufacturing and mining sectors climbed to 77.2 percent and 90.0 percent, respectively. In contrast, capacity utilization in the utilities sector edged down to 70.5 percent.
