The numbers: The Federal Reserve said Friday that industrial production fell 0.3% in October. The Boeing strike and the effects of storms Milton and Helene slowed things down.
The drop was in line with what economists polled by the Wall Street Journal thought would happen.
If not for the strike at Boeing BA 1.48% and the storms, October production would have been pretty much the same.
The previous estimate for September production was a 0.3% drop, but it was changed to a 0.5% drop.
This month, Boeing factory workers agreed to a new deal, which ended the seven-week strike.
What the Fed said was that capacity utilization dropped from 77.4% in September to 77.1% in October. This is the lowest rate of use since April 2021.
The capacity-utilization rate shows how much the country’s companies, mines, and utilities can actually run. An economist had predicted a rate of 77.2%.
Important facts: In October, manufacturing fell 0.5%, following a 0.3% drop the month before.
The production of cars and parts fell 3.1%, following a 0.4% drop the previous month. If you take out cars, overall industrial fell 0.1%.
In October, income from utilities went up by 0.7%. It went up 0.3% after going down 1.9% the previous month. This includes oil and natural gas.
In the big picture, manufacturing has been stuck because of the strong dollar, slow global growth, and higher interest rates.
In the future: A worker at Capital Economics named Ruben Gargallo Abargues said that the return of Boeing machinists could increase output by 0.4% in November.
