U.S. industrial production has fallen for two consecutive months, data from the Federal Reserve showed Monday.
The total output of utilities, mines, and factories in the U.S. dropped 1.3 percent in September and 0.1 percent in August, the Federal Reserve reported.
That is far worse than economists expected. The consensus forecast was for 0.2 percent growth in September, according to Econoday.
The August number was revised down from the preliminary report of 0.4 percent growth.
The Federal Reserve reported Monday that nearly half, or six-tenths of a percentage point, of the September contraction was attributable to hurricane Ida.
Manufacturing fell 0.7 percent in September, in large part because of a 7.2 percent decline in auto manufacturing. A shortage of semiconductors has forced car makers to slow production.
But even excluding the auto industry, production declined. Factor output less autos fell 0.3 percent, the Fed said.
Utilities fell 3.6 percent. Mining production, which includes oil wells, declined 2.3 percent.
Capacity utilization declined by one percentage point to 75.2 percent. That is about 4.4 points below the long-term average.