US industrial production falls sharply in September led by drop in auto output
US industrial production dropped unexpectedly last month, registering across-the-board declines by sectors.
According to the Department of Commerce, in seasonally adjusted terms, total output shrank at a month-on-month pace of 1.3%.
That compared to a 0.3% rise as forecast by economists.
Manufacturing production dropped by 0.7% in comparison to the prior month, while in Mining output declined by 2.3% and that of Utilities fell 3.6%.
Not surprisingly, the rate of capacity utilisation also undershot by a wide margin, coming in at 75.2% (consensus: 76.5%).
Auto manufacturing paced declines, dropping by 7.2% versus August while that of durable goods as a whole shrank by 0.5%.
Durable goods output was otherwise 0.5% higher with gains of over 1.0% in primary metals, electrical equipment, appliances, and components; aerospace and miscellaneous transportation equipment; furniture and related products; and miscellaneous manufacturing.
Production of nondurable goods meanwhile fell by 1.0%.