Industrial production rose 0.2 percent in August after an increase of 0.5 percent in July. At 114.4 percent of its 2002 average, total industrial production in August was 1.7 percent above its year-earlier level.
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Manufacturing output fell 0.3 percent in August after five consecutive months of increases, mining output dropped 0.6 percent, but unusually hot weather contributed to an increase of 5.3 percent in the output of utilities.
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Capacity utilization for total industry was unchanged, at 82.2 percent, a rate 0.2 percentage point below its level in August 2006 but 1.2 percentage points above its 1972-2006 average.
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Market Groups
The production of consumer goods edged up 0.1 percent in August.
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The production of …