Industrial production south of the border rose slightly in September, led by an increase in construction supplies, but experts say there’s little sign of a broad rebound in the offing for struggling manufacturers.
The U.S. Federal Reserve on Monday said industrial production grew 0.1% last month. In August, production had fallen a revised 0.5%.
American goods producers are still coping with stern headwinds, however. Industrial production fell again in the second quarter and output is down 1% in the past year.
A combination of slow global growth and a strong dollar has hurt the ability of U.S.-based companies to sell exports, while lower oil prices have forced domestic drillers and other energy producers to slash investment. Lower business profits are also weighing on spending and investment decisions of U.S. companies.
So-called capacity utilization rose a tick to 75.4%, but still well below its long-run average of 80%. In plain English, plants are only running at three-quarters speed.
In September, manufacturing output grew 0.2%. Mining output also rose 0.4% after a large drop in August.
Yet those gains were offset by a 1% plunge in output from utilities, a volatile category influenced by weather patterns and the price of fuel, the second decline in a row, reflecting in part unseasonably warm weather.
