August Factory Activity Jumps in Midwest

Manufacturing in the Midwest jumped 3.5% in August, the largest monthly gain in 16 years, as the region’s auto and steel sectors staged a production rebound, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago said. The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index rose to 125.9 from July’s revised 121.7, previously reported as 121.2. The Federal Reserve’s national measure of industrial production rose 2% in August to 132. The Midwest’s burst of manufacturing in August was driven mainly by the settlement of strikes at General Motors Corp.