Business

Editor: Bruce Meng
16 Sep 2008 01:45:07 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.