WASHINGTON, June 14 (UPI) -- Industrial production was unchanged in May, after dropping 0.4 percent in April, the U.S. Federal Reserve said Friday.
Manufacturing output in May rose by 0.1 percent after declining for two consecutive months.
Production at mines in May rose 0.7 percent in May.
But the gains in manufacturing and mining were offset by a 1.8 percent decline in the output at utility companies, where production dropped due to a declining demand for air conditioning in the densely populated Northeast, where the weather has been unseasonably cool.
Total production in May was at 98.7 percent of its 2007 average and 1.6 percent above the level of May 2012, the Fed said.
The rate of capacity utilization among industrial firms -- the percentage of production compared to companies going at full steam -- fell 0.1 percentage points to 77.6 percent, a rate 0.2 percentage points below its level in May 2012, and 2.6 percentage points below its long run average.
