Surge In Auto Production Lifts Industrial Output By 0.6% In July

Thanks largely to increased production of autos, industrial production climbed 0.6% in July, the Federal Reserve said Friday. There were also upward revisions of 0.1% each in February, May and June. Excluding the 10.6% surge in autos, manufacturing production rose 0.1%, mining output rose 0.2% while utilities output fell 1%. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector increased 0.3 percentage point to 78%. Economists polled by MarketWatch expected a 0.4% rise in industrial production and a utilization rate of 78.1%.