U.S. industrial production fell sharply in March as the coronavirus pandemic disrupted supply chains and knocked down demand for an array of goods and services.
Industrial production, a measure of factory, mining and utility output, decreased a seasonally adjusted 5.4% in March from the prior month, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal expected a 3.5% drop.
Here are takeaways from the report:
–Manufacturing output, the biggest component of industrial production, decreased 6.3% in March from the prior month.
–Excluding motor vehicles and parts, industrial production fell 4.5% last month.
–Mining production decreased 2%. The oil and gas industry has been hit by falling prices alongside falling demand as stay-at-home orders lead Americans to drive less.
–Utilities output dropped 3.9%.
–Capacity utilization, which reflects how much industries are producing compared to what they could potentially produce, decreased by 4.3 percentage point to 72.7% in March. Economists had expected a reading of 73.7%.
–February’s industrial production was revised down to a 0.5% increase, compared with an earlier estimate of a 0.6% rise.
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U.S. Industrial Production Falls in March