GM General Motors Company

By Harriet Torry 

WASHINGTON -- U.S. factory production rebounded strongly in November as auto industry output picked up after the General Motors Co. strike ended.

Industrial production, a measure of factory, mining and utility output, increased a seasonally adjusted 1.1% in November from the prior month, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday.

That marked the biggest month-over-month increase since October 2017. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, industrial production increased 0.5% last month and the manufacturing index rose 0.3%.

The jump in November output followed a spate of weak readings and came after the United Auto Workers union ended its nationwide, 40-day strike at General Motors factories in late October.

October's industrial production was revised to a 0.9% decline from a previous estimate of a 0.8% drop.

A separate reading on the U.S. housing sector showed construction of new homes climbed in November, a sign of continued momentum in the housing sector. The Commerce Department on Tuesday said housing starts, a measure of U.S. home-building, increased 3.2% in November from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.365 million. Residential permits, which can be a bellwether for future home construction, also rose 1.4% from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.482 million.

The housing sector has strengthened this year following a slump that began in late 2018. The National Association of Homebuilders reported Monday that a gauge of home-builder confidence hit its highest level in 20 years this month. The National Association of Realtors will release data Thursday on November sales of previously owned homes, which economists expect softened slightly from October.

The longer-term manufacturing trend remains weak: from a year earlier, industrial production declined 0.8% in November.

"Despite the GM-induced gyrations in recent months, the story for the factory sector remains one of mild contraction in 2019, hampered by trade tensions and a strong dollar," said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont, in a note to clients.

Manufacturing output, which accounts for about 75% of the nation's total industrial output, increased 1.1% in November, the most since February 2018. That followed a 0.7% drop in both September and October.

Mining production fell 0.2% last month, while utilities output increased 2.9%. The mining index, which includes oil-and-natural-gas extraction, was up 2% from a year earlier.

Capacity utilization, which reflects how much industries are producing compared with what they could potentially produce, increased by 0.7 percentage point to 77.3% in November. Economists had expected 77.4%.

Tuesday's data is the latest to indicate the U.S. manufacturing sector is beginning to stabilize after a tumultuous year marked by trade uncertainty.

In addition to trade developments, oil prices are up about 30% from a year earlier, a trend that could halt further contraction in energy-related manufacturing. Auto makers also have labor agreements in place, and the global economic slowdown doesn't appear to be as severe as some feared.

Nonetheless, the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index declined further in November, to 48.1 from October's 48.3. Readings above 50 denote expansion, while those below 50 are a sign of contraction.

Write to Harriet Torry at harriet.torry@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 17, 2019 10:28 ET (15:28 GMT)

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