Industrial Production Rises in June

Washington, DC, July 15, 2011 -- Industrial production rose in June for the first time in two months without any help from manufacturing, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.

The 0.2% growth rate was slower than the 0.5% consensus increase predicted by economists.

May’s levels for industrial production were revised lower to show a 0.1% drop.

For the second quarter, industrial production rose at a 0.8% annual rate, in what the Fed mostly attributed to the supply-chain disruptions following the March earthquake in Japan.

Excluding the motor vehicles and parts industry, industrial production rose just 0.1%, demonstrating that not all the weakness stems from the Japan-related supply shortage.

Capacity utilization stayed at 76.7% for a second month, slightly below economist expectations of 76.9%.