Provide Points Result in Surprising 0.1% Dip in Industrial Output

Model year 2021 Ford Ranger trucks on the assembly line at Michigan Assembly on June 14, 2021, in Wayne, Mich.

Mannequin 12 months 2021 Ford Ranger vehicles on the meeting line at Michigan Meeting on June 14, 2021, in Wayne, Mich.

AP Picture/Carlos Osorio

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. industrial manufacturing fell 0.1% in December, the primary decline since September, with producers nonetheless fighting snarled provide chains.

Many economists had anticipated a small enhance in manufacturing final month as factories recovered.

But manufacturing output really fell by 0.3%, with output at auto crops down 1.3%. Automakers have been damage by provide chain issues, particularly shortages of essential pc chips.

Output from utilities fell 1.5% final month, reflecting unusually heat December climate. Output from mining, which covers oil and gasoline manufacturing, was the one main class exhibiting a rise, a acquire of two% final month.

Economists imagine that industrial manufacturing will proceed to wrestle to fulfill robust demand so long as issues affecting provide chains persist. There’s concern that the surge in COVID-19 instances due to the omicron variant will end in shortages of manufacturing unit employees, which might intensify provide chain issues.