---
title: "Industrial production rose 0.7% in September, with utility output up 3.5%"
url: "https://etf.net/news/industrial-production-rises-utilities-up-2026-10-16"
published_at: "2026-10-16T14:02:16.526Z"
updated_at: "2026-10-16T15:15:26.041Z"
byline: "ETF.net Research"
---

# Industrial production rose 0.7% in September, with utility output up 3.5%

Manufacturing rose 0.3%, vehicle and parts output fell 3%, and capacity utilization stayed 2.5 percentage points below its long-term average.

By ETF.net Research. Published Oct 16, 2026.

U.S. industrial production rose **0.7%** in September, but the largest increase was in utilities, not factories, the U.S. Federal Reserve said Friday. The gain was above the 0.4% consensus from Econoday, a service that surveys forecasters on economic data, and above a forecast range of 0.1% to 0.6%. The report was released at 9:15 a.m. Eastern time.

Utility output rose **3.5%**, with gains in both electric and natural gas utilities. Manufacturing rose 0.3%, matching that survey's forecast, and mining rose 0.2%.

Durable goods output rose 0.1%. Gains of 1% or more in primary metals, machinery and electrical equipment, appliances and components were offset by a 3% drop in motor vehicles and parts.

In the third quarter, industrial production rose at an annual rate of 2.8% while utilities climbed 14.8% and manufacturing 0.7% over the same period.

Capacity utilization rose to 76.9% from a revised 76.4% in August, above the 76.5% the survey expected. The rate is still 2.5 percentage points below its long-run average of 79.4% between 1972 and 2025.

August industrial production, reported as unchanged on September 18, was revised to a 0.1% increase.

September production was 2.2% above its year-earlier level.

Source: etf.net, https://etf.net/news/industrial-production-rises-utilities-up-2026-10-16. Please cite the page URL.