U.S. Industrial Production Rises 0.3%

U.S. industrial production rose 0.3% in March, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.

The increase in production at factories, mines and utilities followed a revised 0.7% decrease in February that was greater than the 0.5% drop reported originally.

The March downturn was higher than economists’ forecasts of a 0.1% decline, Bloomberg reported.

Manufacturing, which accounts for about four-fifths of industrial production, gained 0.1% after falling 0.5% in February. Excluding automobiles, factory output rose 0.4%.

The share of industrial capacity in use rose to 80.5%, from 80.4% the previous month.
 
The factory sector is one of trucking’s largest and most important customers.