Industrial production plunges unprecedented 11.2% in April

WASHINGTON (AP) — American industry suffered the most severe plunge on record last month with factories, mines and utilities battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Federal Reserve said Friday that its industrial production index tumbled a record 11.2% in April. Manufacturing output also posted a record drop — 13.7% — as production of cars, trucks and auto parts plummeted more than 70%. Production of aerospace and other transportation products, metals and furniture fell around 20%. Output dropped 6.1% at mines and 0.9% at utilities.

The drops were about what economists expects, “but one can’t help but grimace," Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a research report.

Industry was running at 64.9% of capacity last month, shattering the previous record low set in the Great Recession year 2009. Factory capacity utilization also hit a record low 61.1%.

The lockdowns and travel restrictions imposed to combat COVID-19 have brought economic activity to a near-standstill. U.S. gross domestic product — the broadest measure of economic output — is expected to crater at a 40% annual rate from April-June, biggest drop in records dating back to 1947.

The Commerce Department reported Friday that retail sales dropped a record 16% in April.