Industrial Production Rises 0.1% in June

Industrial production rose 0.1% in June, boosted by higher utility use, the Federal Reserve said Thursday.

The uptick followed a revised 1.3% increase in May that was slightly bigger than first reported.

Utilities boosted their output 2.7% due to hot weather, while factories, generally the biggest contributor to industrial activity, trimmed output 0.4%.

The production increase was in line with economists’ forecasts, which varied from a slight decline increase to a slight increase, Bloomberg reported.

The share of industrial capacity in use rose held at 74.1%, the Fed said.

Manufacturing accounts for about an eighth of the U.S. economy and the factory sector is one of trucking’s largest and most important customers.