FILE - In this May 13, 2020, file photo, Ford Motor Co., line workers put together ventilators that the automaker is assembling at the Ford Rawsonvill...
FILE - In this May 13, 2020, file photo, Ford Motor Co., line workers put together ventilators that the automaker is assembling at the Ford Rawsonville plant in Ypsilanti Township, Mich. American industry rebounded last month as factories began to reopen for the first time since being shut down by the coronavirus in Aprll. The Federal Reserve said Tuesday, June 16, 2020, that industrial production — including output at factories, mines and utilities — rose 1.4% in May after plummeting a record 12.4% in April and 4.6% in March. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Production at America's factories, utilities and mines surged last month, but remained well below pre-pandemic levels.
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that U.S. industrial production rose 5.4% in June, the second straight monthly gain. But it was still 10.9% below the level in February before the economy locked down in the face of the coroanavirus.
Factory production jumped 7.2% in June. The figures were better than economists had forecast.
Production at utilities climbed 4.2%. But mining output sank 2.9% last month, the fifth straight drop, pulled down by plummeting oil and gas production.