Industrial production decreased 1.1 percent in August and was revised down in June and July to show smaller gains of 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent respectively. After little movement over the previous three months, factory output was down 1.0 percent in August, in part because of a drop of 11.9 percent in the production of motor vehicles and parts.
 
Excluding motor vehicles and parts, the index for manufacturing decreased 0.3 percent. The output of mines declined 0.4 percent, and the output of utilities fell 3.2 percent, as temperatures in August were unseasonably mild.
 
Precautionary shutdowns in the Gulf of Mexico in advance of Hurricane Gustav partly curtailed refinery activity, petrochemical production, and the extraction of crude oil and natural gas; however, …