Industrial Production Up in December

Washington, DC, January 17, 2007–Industrial production rose by an overall 0.4% in December, as the high-technology and motor-vehicle industries posted strong output for the month, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.

Output in November was revised to a decrease of 0.1%, down from the initial estimate of a 0.2% gain.

Manufacturing output rose by 0.7% in December after being flat in November and declining by 0.6% in October.

Over the past year, industrial production has risen 3%.

The increase was greater than expected. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected production would be flat in December.

Production of motor vehicles and parts rose 2.6% in December after rising 3.4% in November. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, industrial output rose by 0.4% in December, reversing a drop of 0.4% in November.

High-technology output rose 2.2%. Business-equipment production posted a 1.6% gain in December. The production of information-processing equipment rose 1.2%.

The output of construction supplies rose by 0.2%.

Output at mines rose in December, the Fed said. Mine production rose by 0.8%. Utility production fell 2.6%.

Capacity utilization rose slightly in December to 81.8% from 81.6% in November.

Manufacturing capacity utilization rose slightly to 80.4%.