Industrial Production Slows in August

Industrial production rose 0.2% in August, following a bigger gain in July, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.

Production had risen 0.6% in July, smaller than the 1% increase originally reported.

The 0.2% increase matched economists’ forecasts, Bloomberg reported.

Factory output rose 0.5% excluding automobile production, the biggest such jump since May. Auto output fell 5% last month after surging 9.5% in July.

The share of industrial capacity in use rose to 74.7%, from 74.6% in July, the Fed said.

Manufacturing accounts for about an eighth of the U.S. economy and the factory sector is one of trucking’s largest and most important customers.