AFP, Washington :
Output at US factories plunged in August due to the big hit from Hurricane Harvey that shut down huge parts of the nation’s oil refining, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.
The massive storm that hit the Gulf Coast of Texas late that month is estimated to have cut US industrial production by three-quarters of a percentage point, the report said.
Total industrial output fell by 0.9 percent compared to July, driven down by the 0.3 percent drop in manufacturing, which included big drops in output for oil, chemicals and plastics, as well as a 0.8 percent drop in the mining sector, due to disruptions in drilling and extraction.
At the same time industrial capacity in use dropped to 76.1 percent, down eight tenths from the prior month as the storm forced major shutdowns.
Economists had forecast an increase of 0.2 percent in industrial production, and a slight rise in capacity utilization, apparently not factoring in the likely impact of the hurricane on a major US industrial hub.
Manufacturing of energy products for consumers fell nearly five percent in the month which the Fed said reflected in part the “hurricane-related reduction in petroleum refining.”
Output at US factories plunged in August due to the big hit from Hurricane Harvey that shut down huge parts of the nation’s oil refining, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.
The massive storm that hit the Gulf Coast of Texas late that month is estimated to have cut US industrial production by three-quarters of a percentage point, the report said.
Total industrial output fell by 0.9 percent compared to July, driven down by the 0.3 percent drop in manufacturing, which included big drops in output for oil, chemicals and plastics, as well as a 0.8 percent drop in the mining sector, due to disruptions in drilling and extraction.
At the same time industrial capacity in use dropped to 76.1 percent, down eight tenths from the prior month as the storm forced major shutdowns.
Economists had forecast an increase of 0.2 percent in industrial production, and a slight rise in capacity utilization, apparently not factoring in the likely impact of the hurricane on a major US industrial hub.
Manufacturing of energy products for consumers fell nearly five percent in the month which the Fed said reflected in part the “hurricane-related reduction in petroleum refining.”
