Factory Output Inches Up 0.1%

Production at the nation’s factories, mines and utilities edged up a tiny 0.1% last month, continuing the pattern of weak growth evident all year long, the government reported today.

The Federal Reserve Board said that the small September gain matched the August increase and left factory output just 0.8% higher than it was a year ago. Activity in the American industrial sector has been sluggish all year, hurt by big cutbacks in oil production and drilling and the huge foreign trade deficit which has robbed domestic manufacturers of sales.