American industrial production falls again

Friday, Sept. 14, 2001 | 10:16 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Industrial production fell for the 11th consecutive month in August, a 0.8 percent drop that dashed hopes the nation's beleaguered manufacturing sector was on the verge of a rebound, the government reported today.

Optimism that the country will be able to mount a sustained recovery in the second half of this year had already been dealt a severe blow by this week's terrorist bombings, which brought a temporary halt to airline travel and jolted Americans' confidence about the future.

In other government economic reports today, retail sales rose a moderate 0.3 percent despite the fact that auto sales dropped in August. And wholesale prices climbed 0.4 percent as the cost of gasoline and other energy products posted sharp increases.

The 0.8 percent drop in industrial production brought the string of declines to 11, the longest stretch of weakness in more than three decades, since an 11-month fall from February through December 1960.

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