Industrial production falls 0.5% amid big decline in auto output - CNBC

A worker loads a tray of green rubber to be molded into golfball cores at the Acushnet Holdings Corp. Titleist Ball Plant III facility in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Scott Eisen | Bloomberg | Getty Images

U.S. industrial production fell in April, dragged by a big drop in factory output as production of autos and auto parts continued to slide.

The Federal Reserve says industrial output — reflecting total production at factories, utilities and mines — dropped 0.5% in April after a 0.2% March gain. Industrial production fell 0.5% in February.

Manufacturing output fell 0.5%, led by a 2.6% decline in motor vehicles and parts, which has fallen in three of the past four months.

Production at the nation's utilities fell a sharp 3.5%. Production at mines, a sector that also covers oil and gas drilling, rose 1.6%.

Manufacturing has struggled over the past year, reflecting weakness in auto sales and the global economy.

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