Industrial production fell 0.1% in March, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday. This is the fourth straight month of weak readings.
The numbers: Industrial production fell 0.1% in March, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday. The gain was below Wall Street expectations of a 0.1% gain. This is the fourth straight weak reading for industrial production. Production rose 0.1% in February after a 0.3% decline in January.
What happened: Manufacturing output was unchanged in March after falling for the past two months. Auto production fell 2.5%. For the first quarter, auto production was down at a 12.8% annual rate, the biggest decline in almost eight years. Construction material and business equipment had sizeable increases.
Capacity utilization fell to 78.8% in March, the lowest rate since last July. The capacity utilization rate reflects the limits to operating the nation’s factories, mines and utilities. It’s still below pre-recession levels, above 80%, that could fan production costs and prices.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Fed officials are leaving the door open for more rate hikes if the economy improves, minutes sayThe Federal Open Market Committee released minutes Wednesday from its meeting March 19-20.
Read more »
U.S. government posts $147 billion deficit in MarchThe U.S. federal government posted a $147 billion budget deficit in March, accor...
Read more »
Border crossings by undocumented migrants in March hit 12-year highBREAKING: US officials encountered over 103,000 undocumented immigrants crossing the country's southern border in March, according to DHS officials, making last month the highest March for border crossings since March 2007.
Read more »
Analysis | More migrants were stopped at the border in March than in any month since 2007The number of family members stopped was more than the total apprehensions in all but five months in the past decade.
Read more »
China's March exports seen rebounding, imports falling again: Reuters pollChina's exports are expected to have rebounded in March after a sharp drop ...
Read more »
March mobile phone shipments to China fall 6 percent as economy slowsShipments of mobile phones to China fell 6 percent in March compared with the sa...
Read more »
Boeing Didn’t Get Any Commercial 737 Orders in MarchThe company failed to book any commercial orders for its 737 jetliner in March, the first month without a sale of its best-selling aircraft in almost seven years.
Read more »
OPEC's oil production plunges to four-year low in March as Saudis slash outputOPEC's output fell by 534,000 barrels per day in March to just over 30 million bpd, the lowest since February 2015.
Read more »