Industrial Production Increases 1.1% in November
Industrial production rose by 1.1% in November, the most in a year, after a 0.1% increase the month before, the Federal Reserve reported Dec. 16.
The figure beat the average forecast from economists surveyed by Bloomberg News that production would rise 0.6%.
Capacity utilization, which measures industrial plant output, increased to 79% from 78.2%.
Motor vehicle and parts manufacturing increased 3.4% In November after a decrease of 1.3% in October, the Fed said.
“It’s pretty clear that consumption is accelerating in the fourth quarter,” Jim O’Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, told Bloomberg. “Manufacturing, in general, looks pretty good.”
In a separate report, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said manufacturing activity in that region expanded less in December than forecast, Bloomberg said.
The “Empire State Index,” generally the first economic indicator in a given month, increased to 1 from a November reading of minus 2.2, the regional Fed said. Readings greater than zero signal expansion in the index, which covers New York, northern New Jersey and southern Connecticut
