U.S. manufacturing output took a hit from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in September and also was impacted by the strike at Boeing Co.'s commercial airplane operations. Manufacturing production fell half a percentage point last month, the Federal Reserve Board reported on October 14. Capacity utilization also declined, slipping six-tenths percent to 77.9% in September from 78.5% in August.
Overall U.S. industrial production, which includes mining and utilities as well as manufacturing, fell 1.3% in September, as mining output decreased 9.1% and utility output decreased nine-tenths of a percent. Capacity utilization was 79.1% for mines in September and 86.3% for utilities. Those numbers when added to manufacturing's capacity utilization resulted in a total industry figure of 78.6% in September, down 1.2 points from 79.8% in August.
