Industrial Production Takes Biggest Gain in Three Months

Industrial production rose in April by the most in three months, gaining 0.8%, the Federal Reserve said Friday.

The increase followed a revised 0.2% increase in March, which had originally been reported as a 0.1% rise. Factory output jumped 1% for a second month.

The increase was slightly higher than economists’ forecasts of a 0.7% increase, Bloomberg reported.

The share of industrial capacity in use rose to 73.7% from 73.1% in March.

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.