US: Industrial production rose 0.4% in August to match July's reading

"Industrial production rose 0.4 percent in August for its third consecutive monthly increase," the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System reported on Friday.

Key takeaways from the press release

• Manufacturing output moved up 0.2 percent on the strength of a 4.0 percent rise for motor vehicles and parts; motor vehicle assemblies jumped to an annual rate of 11.5 million units, the strongest reading since April.
• At 108.2 percent of its 2012 average, total industrial production was 4.9 percent higher in August than it was a year earlier.
• Capacity utilization for the industrial sector moved up in August to 78.1 percent, a rate that is 1.7 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2017) average.