U.S. Industrial Production Rose 0.7% in September, Topping Forecasts
As seen on the 24/7 Wall St. homepage on October 16, 2026.
The headline doubled the 0.4% forecast, but utilities did the heavy lifting at +3.5% while factory output merely met expectations, so this is a weaker argument for a December hike than it looks.
U.S. INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION BEATS EXPECTATIONS IN SEPTEMBER U.S. industrial production rose 0.7% in September, beating expectations of 0.4%. 🔸 Manufacturing: +0.3% (in line) 🔸 Utilities: +3.5% 🔸 Mining: +0.2% 🔸 Capacity utilization: 76.9% (forecast 76.5%) 🔸 Industrial
- Replies24
- Reposts27
- Likes128
Continue ReadingShow less
September industrial production rose 0.7%, topping the 0.4% consensus expectation.
Utilities surged 3.5% and did the bulk of the work, while manufacturing grew just 0.3%, meeting expectations, and mining added 0.2%.
That composition matters for anyone reading this as a signal on monetary policy. A utilities-driven beat reflects seasonal energy demand, a thinner argument for additional Fed tightening than the top-line figure suggests.
Capacity utilization ticking above its forecast is still a real data point worth watching. It indicates the economy is running closer to its productive limits, which the Fed tracks closely when weighing inflation pressure.