Factory output falls in latest sign of weak growth

Washington

FACTORY output fell in September for a second month as high inventories and lukewarm demand from overseas customers kept American producers bogged down.

The 0.1 per cent drop at manufacturers, which make up 75 per cent of all production, followed a revised 0.4 per cent decrease the prior month, a Federal Reserve report showed on Friday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for a 0.2 per cent decrease. Total industrial production, which also includes mines and utilities, dropped 0.2 per cent.