February 15, 2019
By Gina Heeb
US industrial production fell 0.6% in January, compared with expectations for a slight increase.
Manufacturing activity showed particular weakness, dragged down by falling motor vehicle output.
The sector is expected to continue to decline, economists say, potentially entering a mild recession this year.
A measure of factory output unexpectedly fell (click here) at the start of the year, raising concerns that the sector could be headed for a downturn.
Industrial production declined 0.6% in January from a month earlier, the Federal Reserve said in a report Friday, well below expectations for a 0.1% increase. Manufacturing production slid 0.9%, seen as the result of rising protectionism and decelerating economic growth around the world.
"Manufacturing is under real pressure from the slowdown in China and the trade war, and we expect output to drift down over the first half of the year, putting the sector into a mild recession," said Ian Shepherdson, the chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics....
