Industrial Production Rises 0.3% in February

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roduction at U.S. factories, mines and utilities rose 0.3% in February, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday.

The rise fell short of economists’ projections of an overall rise of 0.4%, Bloomberg reported.

Manufacturing, which accounts for almost 90% of industrial production, rose 0.5% for a third straight month, the Fed said. The factory sector is one of trucking’s largest and most important customers.

The report said the share of industrial capacity in use was 79.2%, unchanged from an upwardly revised 79.2% for January. The result surpassed analysts' expectations, Reuters reported.

The Fed said business equipment production, including transportation and information processing equipment, rose 0.3%, following a 1% January increase.

Production of industrial equipment fell but home electronic goods production jumped 8.6%, the second straight increase, following a 4.1% increase the month before.

Automotive product production jumped 6.5% in February after falling 2.9% in December. The Fed also reported that mining, including oil extraction, rose 0.2% following no change the previous month.