Industrial Production Falls 0.6% in September

October 17, 2006 9:15 AM, EDT

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.S. industrial production fell 0.6% in September, the biggest drop of the year, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday.

The drop in production at factories, mines and utilities followed a followed a 0.1% slide in August, the Fed said.

The gain was lower than economists’ forecasts of a 0.1% decrease, Bloomberg reported.

Manufacturing, which accounts for about 90% of the index, fell 0.3% following a 0.2% gain in August. The factory sector is one of trucking’s largest and most important cus-tomers.

The share of industrial capacity in use fell to 81.9%.