US industrial production up 5.5% annually in March

ANKARA

US industrial production increased 5.5% year-on-year in March, down from a 7.5% jump in February, the Federal Reserve said Friday.

Manufacturing rose 4.9%, while mining grew 7% and utilities output increased 7.5%.

Industrial output went up at an annual rate of 8.1% in the first quarter of the year.

On a monthly basis, total industrial production rose 0.9% in March.

"Manufacturing output gained 0.9% in March; the output of motor vehicles and parts jumped 7.8%, while factory output elsewhere moved up 0.4%," the data showed.

Capacity utilization rose to 78.3%, a rate that is 1.2 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2021) average.