P. M. BRIEFING : Industrial Production Inches Up

Industrial production edged up 0.1% in November, rebounding from the effects of the Boeing aircraft strike and the San Francisco Bay Area earthquake a month earlier, the government said today.

But without the one-time special effects, production would have been little changed, and analysts said it reflected a growing sluggishness in the economy.

Lawrence Chimerine, senior economic adviser for the WEFA Group in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., said the sluggishness, which started in the auto industry several months ago, is broad-based in the manufacturing sector of the economy.

“As a result, for the next several months, industrial production is going nowhere and, if anything, going slightly down,” he said.

Chimerine and other economists suggested that the Federal Reserve should ease interest rates to stimulate the economy, particularly in view of recent reports that inflation is moderating.