US industrial production rises more than expected

(Sharecast News) - Industrial production in the United States increased by more than expected in January, with an end to a seven-week strike at Boeing supporting output for the second straight month. The volume of production across US factories, mining and manufacturing facilities rose by 0.5% last month, according to data out on Friday from the Federal Reserve, beating the consensus estimate of a 0.3% gain.

Aircraft and parts production contributed 0.2 percentage points to overall industrial production growth "following the earlier resolution of a work stoppage at a major aircraft manufacturer", the Fed said.

Industrial output grew by a revised 1.0% in December, which was changed from the 0.9% growth initially reported.

A seven-week-long walkout at Boeing ended in November, after workers voted to accept a pay rise and one-off bonus tabled by the engineering giant.

Nevertheless, manufacturing output as a whole fell 0.1% in January, held down by a 5.2% fall in motor vehicles and parts production. The index for mining also dropped 1.2%, but the index for utilities jumped 7.2%, as cold temperatures boosted the demand for heating.