US manufacturers increased production for the sixth consecutive month in June in a broad-based advance led by output gains at auto plants, mines and utilities, the US Federal Reserve said today.
The country's output at factories, mines and utilities jumped 0.8 per cent last month, its biggest gain since October 1999, after a 0.4 per cent rise in May, the Fed said.
The amount of available capacity used by the industrial sector also rose for the sixth straight month, jumping to 76.1 per cent in June, its highest level since August of last year, from 75.6 per cent in May.
Factory production alone, which makes up by far the largest portion of overall industrial output, rose by 0.7 per cent last month, following a 0.5 per cent rise in May.
The report, signaling a slow but steady continuation in the beleaguered manufacturing sector's recovery, exceeded the expectations of Wall Street economists, who had anticipated a 0.5 per cent rise in industrial output and a capacity use rate of 75.8 per cent.