US industrial production up 0.8% in May, factory output 0.9%
Rob Bondurant, a supervisor at Great Southern Industries, a packaging company, loads up a finishing machine in the Jackson, Miss., facility, Friday, May 28, 2021. The lack of workers has forced some supervisors to assume additional duties. Charita McCarrol, human resources manager at the company, cites the abuse by some people of the $300-a-week federal supplement for people who lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other programs that offered extended support for the unemployed, with providing a soon to end financial staple. She also cited that for some people, a steady paycheck and benefits like health care, are not enough of an incentive to pass up the expiring benefits.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Surging output of cars, trucks and auto parts pulled U.S. factory production up 0.9% in May.
Adding utilities and mines, overall U.S. industrial production climbed 0.8% in May from April, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday.
Auto production jumped 6.7% despite ongoing problems arising from a shortage of computer chips.
Production rose 1.2% at mines last month and 0.2% at utilities.
American industry is rebounding from the coronavirus recession along with the rest of the U.S. economy. The Institute for Supply Management, an association of purchasing managers, reported that manufacturing activity rose in May for the 12th straight month despite supply chain problems and labor shortages.
