P.M. BRIEFING : Industrial Production Up 0.4%; Auto Production, Heat Credited

Industrial production rose 0.4% in June, largely because of a jump in automobile production and a heat wave that boosted utility output, the Federal Reserve said today.

Together, those two factors accounted for three-fourths of the June increase, the Fed said. Last month’s increase follows a 0.6% increase for May, which also had been attributed mainly to an increase in automobile production.

The Fed also reported the operating rate of the nation’s factories, mines and utilities--which usually move in tandem with industrial production--rose 0.2 percentage point to 83.5% in June. The operating rate measures not only output but also changes in productivity levels.

The 0.4% gain in industrial production last month was something of a surprise to analysts, who had been looking for a more modest increase.

From April through June, industrial production climbed at an annual rate of 3.5%, significantly better than a mediocre 0.6% annual rate of gain in the first three months of the year.