Business

Editor: evewen
16 Sep 2008 01:44:33 GMT

WASHINGTON, Sept 15 - U.S. industrial output
tumbled a bigger-than-expected 1.1 percent in August due to a
big drop in auto production and a slide in utilities output
that was tied to mild temperatures.

It was the biggest decline in industrial production, which
includes factories, mines and utilities, since September 2005.
Analysts were expecting a 0.3 percent slide.

Manufacturing production fell 1 percent, also the largest
decrease in three years, as auto production plummeted by 11.9
percent.

Capacity utilization, a measure of how close to flat out
factories are running, slipped to a smaller-than-expected 78.7
percent, the lowest since October 2004. Analysts had forecast a
79.6 capacity use rate.