US industrial production better than expected in January

US industrial production came in better than expected last month, the Federal Reserve said Friday, as aircraft manufacturing continued to rebound following a strike at aviation giant Boeing.

Industrial output increased by 0.5 percent in January after rising by a revised 1.0 percent a month earlier, the Fed said in a statement.

This was above market expectations for a 0.3 percent rise in January, according to Briefing.com.


"The output of aircraft and parts contributed 0.2 percentage point to total IP (industrial production) growth following the earlier resolution of a work stoppage at a major aircraft manufacturer," the Fed said, alluding to the labor strike at Boeing.

That strike shuttered two major assembly facilities in the Seattle region for more than seven weeks last year.

Manufacturing output fell 0.1 percent, the Fed said, "held down by a 5.2 percent decrease in the index for motor vehicles and parts."

The utilities index rose 7.2 percent, "as cold temperatures boosted the demand for heating," the Fed said in its statement, adding that the mining index had fallen 1.2 percent.

"Last month was the coldest January since 1988, and the snowfall was also unusually heavy in much of the Northeast and Midwest around the middle of the month," Pantheon Macroeconomics chief US economist Samuel Tombs wrote in a note to clients.

"This combination boosted demand for heating energy, but impeded supply chains and prevented some staff from working," he added.