The Economy

* Indicators: The industrial production index and capacity utilization rate. The production index tracks production at factories, mines and utilities. The capacity utilization rate measures how close to capacity factories, mines and utilities are operating.

* What they did: Industrial production rose 0.1% in April after a six-month decline. The big gain was in motor vehicles. Excluding that category, however, output actually fell 0.2%. The capacity utilization rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 78.3%.

* What it means: Analysts said that while the decline in industrial production may be slowing, the nation’s factories may not have hit bottom yet.

* Highlights: Production at plants making durable goods was up 0.6% after plunging 1.1% in March, while production of non-durable goods was down 0.2% and production at utilities dipped 0.1%. Capacity utilization at plants producing durable goods rose, but fell at factories making non-durable goods and at mines.

Industrial Production Up April, ‘91: 105.1 March, ‘91: 105.0 April, ‘90: 108.8 Source: Federal Reserve Board