Industrial production increased 0.5% in July. Aside from a hurricane-related rebound in October 2008, the gain in July marked the first monthly increase since December 2007.
Manufacturing output advanced 1.0% in July, primarily due to a jump in motor vehicle assemblies from an annual rate of 4.1 million units in June to 5.9 million units in July. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, manufacturing production edged up 0.2%.
The output of utilities fell 2.4%, reflecting unseasonably mild temperatures in July, and the output of mines increased 0.8%. At 96.0% of its 2002 average, total industrial production was 13.1% below its level of a year earlier.
In July, the capacity utilization rate for total industry edged up to 68.5%, a level 12.4%age points below its 1972-2008 …