Daily Times

US industrial production climbed in March as automakers shifted into gear despite the ongoing semiconductor shortage, the Federal Reserve said Friday. Industrial production climbed 0.9 percent last month, the Fed said, more than expected and pushing the metric of industry output to an annualized rate of 8.1 percent for the first quarter.

Motor vehicles and parts production jumped 7.8 percent and fueled a 0.9 percent gain in overall manufacturing, while other factories saw production rise 0.4 percent, the data said.

American automakers have struggled to keep production going as the supply of the computer chips vital to today’s motor vehicles runs short.

Mining output gained 1.7 percent, mostly due to increased oil and gas production, while utilities rose 0.4 percent as electricity usage increased but natural gas demand fell.

Consumers are generally shifting to buy more services than goods, Oren Klachkin of Oxford Economics said, but “there are still plenty of goods orders that need to be fulfilled” and industrial production will likely see gains in the months to come.

“However, nagging supply chain issues, rising interest rates, and hot inflation readings will continue to pose some constraints,” he said in an analysis.