Industrial Production Rises 0.2% in July

U.S. industrial production rose 0.2% in July, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday, calling it the weakest performance since April.

At the same time, manufacturing, also weakening, grew 0.1% in July after increasing 0.6% in each of the prior two months.

Decreases in production will likely mean decreased demand for trucking services.

Economists told Bloomberg the manufacturing and economic rebound will remain sluggish until consumer and business spending pick up.

Analysts were expecting no change in industrial production, which differs from manufacturing in that includes utility and mine output, Bloomberg said.

Also Thursday, the Labor Department said the number of Americans filing initial jobless claims fell by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 376,000 for the week ended August 3.

Wall Street economists were expecting claims to only decline to 384,000, Reuters said.

The four-week moving average, which irons out weekly fluctuations, declined to a seasonally adjusted 379,000, the lowest level since March of last year.

Meanwhile, the Fed also said factory-use rose to 76.1% from 76 percent in June. In December, it hit a 19-year low of 74.4%.

Part of the increase in production was attributed to a heat wave across much of the country which boosted electricity output to run air conditioners, Bloomberg said.

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