US industrial production rose in September

U.S. industrial production rose 0.4 percent in September after a 1.4 percent drop in August, the U.S. Federal Reserve said Tuesday. For the third quarter, the Fed said, industrial production fell at an annual rate of 0.4 percent with manufacturing down 0.9 percent on an annual basis July through September. Manufacturing from August to September rose 0.2 percent. Output at U.S. mines rose 0.9 percent month to month while production at utility companies climbed 1.5 percent. The Fed said a portion of the increase in September was due to resumption of production after the temporary shut downs in the Gulf of Mexico oil industry -- in production and refining -- in August, as a result of Hurricane Isaac. Capacity utilization -- measuring production as a percentage of manufacturing, mining and utilities operating at full steam -- rose 0.3 percentage point in September to 78.3 percent, a rate 2 percentage points less than its 1972-2011 average.