Automaker rebound boosts US industrial production in March

US industrial production ranked high in March as automakers transferred into gear despite the going semiconductor shortage, the Federal Reserve said on Friday.

Industrial production reached 0.9 percent last month, and  more than expectation  and pushing the metric of industry result  to an annually  rate of 8.1 percent for the first quarter said FR .

Motor vehicles and parts production increased to  7.8 percent and fueled  0.9 percent gain in overall manufacturing, where as other factories saw production rise 0.4 percent, the data clamed.

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 normally 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.