U.S. Industrial Production Drops 0.7%

U.S. industrial production fell 0.7% in April, the Federal Reserve said Thursday.

The increase in production at factories, mines and utilities followed a revised 0.2% decrease in February, from the 0.3% drop reported originally.

The downturn was greater than the 0.3% decline forecast by economists, Bloomberg reported.

Manufacturing, which accounts for about four-fifths of industrial production, fell 0.8%, the most since September 2004, after no change in March.

The share of industrial capacity in use fell to 79.7%, from 80.4% the previous month.

The factory sector is one of trucking’s largest and most important customers.