Industrial Production Gains 0.4% in December

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U.S. industrial production rose 0.4% in December, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.The gain in production at factories, mines and utilities followed a 0.1% dip in November from the previous month that had originally been reported as a 0.2% decline.The gain was higher than economists’ forecasts of a 0.1% increase, Bloomberg reported. Manufacturing, which accounts for about 80% of the index, jumped 0.7%, the most since June, following no change the previous month. Excluding automobiles, factory output rose 0.6%.The factory sector is one of trucking’s largest and most important customers.The share of industrial capacity in use rose to 81.8%, from 81.6% a month earlier.