Industrial Production Up

The Federal Reserve said industrial production grew in October, after September produced the worst drop off in factory output in 62 years, CNNMoney reports. Industrial production grew a seasonally adjusted 1.3% from the previous month, surpassing the economists’ consensus estimate of a 0.2% increase. It was the largest monthly increase in factory output since 1999.

Factory output in October only increased because production in September fell by a revised 3.7%. The Fed said September’s poor output was due mainly to Hurricanes Gustav and Ike’s disastrous effects on the Gulf Coast. Though last month’s industrial production rose from the previous month, it fell a substantial 4.1% from a year ago. Factory output in September fell 5.6% from September 2007. It was the first time that industrial production fell by that much in two straight months since the 2001 recession. ❖