Industrial Production Inches Up 0.1%

Washington, DC, August 16--Output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities rose by a modest 0.1% in July, according to a Federal Reserve report. Consumer goods production fell 0.5%, dragged lower by a sharp drop in output of automobile products. The gain in production was lower than forecast. Economists were expecting production to rise 0.5%. Capacity utilization fell slightly to 79.7% in July from a revised 80% in June. Economists were expecting capacity utilization to rise to 80.3%.