Industrial Production Declines 0.1%

March 17, 2011 10:00 AM, EDT

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Industrial production declined 0.1% in February, led by a downturn in utility output, the Federal Reserve said Thursday.

The decrease followed a revised 0.3% gain in January had originally been reported as a decline.

Economists had forecast February production to rise 0.6%, Bloomberg reported.

Manufacturing, which makes up three-quarters of the total, rose 0.4%, while utility output fell 4.5% on milder weather.

The share of industrial capacity in use slipped to 76.3%, from 76.4% in January.

Manufacturing accounts for about an eighth of the U.S. economy and the factory sector is one of trucking’s largest and most important customers.

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