Industrial Output Falls 0.5 Percent

U.S. industrial output fell 0.5 percent in April from March, leaving it 12.5 percent below April 2008, the Federal Reserve said.

That means overall production from the nation's factories, mines and utilities has fallen for 15 of the last 16 months, dropping capacity use to just 69.1 percent of what's available.

But the latest report also showed signs of improvement, since the April output decline was the weakest so far this year and followed a 1.7 percent drop in March.

Although mining's 3.2 percent fall was the sharpest decline this year, utility output rose 0.4 percent and factory production slid 0.3 percent for the mildest decline since November.

Freight transportation firms depend on mines for shipments of bulk materials from coal to ores, utilities for input materials and factories both for inputs and to haul their finished products. While mines and utilities rely heavily on bulk haulers like railroads and barge lines, factories produce goods for truck delivery and rail intermodal hauls and for exports that ride in ocean containers.

U.S. factories in April were using just 67.5 percent of their capacity, but the Fed's report was in line with other indicators including a widely watched purchasing managers' survey that indicates the downturn in manufacturing could be easing.

The most recent weekly rail data, however, suggests that shipments worsened again in recent weeks. (See story.)

April production of non-industrial supplies fell a sharp 1.1 percent, but output of consumer goods was unchanged from March. Business equipment production fell 0.6 percent.

Contact John D. Boyd at jboyd@joc.com.