Industrial production edges up in May

Industrial production rose by 1.4% in May, as many factories resumed operations after shutdowns spurred by the coronavirus crisis, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday.

Capacity utilization came in at 64.8%.

Economists polled by MarketWatch expected a rise of 2.8% in industrial production and capacity utilization of 66.8%.

Big picture: The reading on industrial production is another sign that the U.S. economy began to revive last month from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Ahead of Tuesday’s figures on industrial production, industrial output had been down in four out of the past five months. In March and April, the COVID-19 pandemic led many factories to slow or suspend operations.

A separate report on Tuesday said sales at U.S. retailers roared back in May. It comes after a surprisingly upbeat jobs report for May that was released on June 6.