Industrial Production Rises, Thanks to Utilities

The Stellantis Windsor Assembly Plant in Windsor, Ontario, on February 4, 2025. Photographer: Emily Elconin/Bloomberg.

U.S. industrial production rose in January by more than forecast, boosted by utilities usage in a month marked by colder temperatures, while a sharp decline in motor vehicle output restrained manufacturing. The 0.5 percent increase in production at factories, mines, and utilities followed a revised 1 percent gain a month earlier, Federal Reserve data showed Friday. The median expectation in Bloomberg survey of economists was a 0.3 percent increase.

Manufacturing output, which accounts for three-fourths of total industrial production, slipped 0.1 percent due to the weakest auto production in three months. Excluding autos, factory output rose 0.2 percent after a sharp December advance. Output at utilities jumped 7.2 percent, the most in three years, while mining decreased 1.2 percent.