US industrial production slowed by hurricane

Hurricane Isaac gave U.S. industrial production a jolt on the order of 0.3 percentage points in August, the U.S. Federal Reserve said Friday. Overall, industrial production dropped 1.2 percent in August from July after a revised gain of 0.5 percent in July, the U.S. Federal Reserve said. Output in manufacturing, one of three industrial divisions, fell 0.7 percent, after rising 0.4 percent in both June and July. Output at U.S. mines fell 1.8 percent, partly as a result of slowed or shut down activity at oil rigs and refineries in the path of the hurricane, which moved from Florida to the Gulf of Mexico before turning north and heading inland. At utility firms, output fell 3.6 percent, the Fed said. Capacity utilization -- measuring production as a percentage of manufacturing, mining and utilities operating at full steam -- fell 1 percentage point in August to 78.2 percent, a rate 2.1 percentage points less than its 1972-2011 average.