Industrial production rose 0.7% in September after an revised gain of 1.2% in August.

 

For the third quarter as a whole, output advanced at an annual rate of 5.2%, the first quarterly gain since the first quarter of 2008 and the largest gain since the first quarter of 2005. Production in manufacturing increased 0.9% in September, and the index excluding motor vehicles and parts rose 0.5%.

 

Mining output strengthened 0.7%, while the output of utilities fell 0.7%. At 98.5% of its 2002 average, total industrial production was 6.1% below its level of a year earlier.

 

In September, the capacity utilization rate for total industry increased to 70.5%, a level 10.4 percentage points below its average for 1972 through 2008.

 

For more details on industrial production/capacity utilization in September, download the pdf below.