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U.S. industrial output dips
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February 16, 2001: 10:26 a.m. ET
January production slips 0.3%; Wall Street had expected no change
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - U.S. industrial output fell for the fourth straight month in January as the latest cutback in U.S. auto production and the recent electricity shortage on the West Coast tilted Wall Street's forecasts of a zero-percent change.
Industrial production fell 0.3 percent in January following a 0.5 percent decline in December as businesses reacted to weaker consumer demand by slowing their output, the Federal Reserve said Friday.
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Industrial output does show we are still in a slowdown, but it does show we may be nearing the bottom of a slowdown.
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Ashraf Laidi
M.G. Financial Group |
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Capacity utilization was down to 80.2 percent in January from 80.7 percent in December. It was the lowest operating rate for industry since a matching 80.2 percent in August 1992, implying ample room for companies to boost production without fueling price rises once demand picks up.
"Industrial output does show we are still in a slowdown, but it does show we may be nearing the bottom of a slowdown," said Ashraf Laidi, economist at M.G. Financial Group. "We are still not out of woods yet. January was a slow month, but we could see some brightening of prospects after the first half of this year."
January's decline was led by a sharp 6 percent drop in gas and electric utility output, reflecting moderating temperatures after December's extreme cold.
-- from staff and wire reports 
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