May Industrial Production Increases 0.4%

roduction at U.S. factories, mines and utilities rose 0.4% in May, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.

The increase turned around a revised 0.3% decline in April that had been the first since January. April's level had been originally reported at a 0.2% drop.

The May increase exceeded economists' forecasts of a 0.2% rise, Bloomberg reported.

Outside of automobiles, manufacturing production rose 0.5%, the Fed said, following no change in April. The factory sector is one of trucking’s largest and most important customers.

The report said the share of industrial capacity in use rose to 79.4% in May, up from 79.1% in April.

Business equipment production, including transportation and information processing equipment, rose 0.8%, following a 1% increase in April.

Production of consumer goods including automobiles rose 0.5% after dropping 0.9% in April. Furniture and appliance manufacturing rose 2%, after declining 2.4% in April.

Mining output, including oil extraction, held at a 0.1% increase.