Sandy affected US industrial production

Superstorm Sandy affected October U.S. industrial production, which fell 0.4 percent after a 0.2 percent increase in September, the Federal Reserve said Friday. The Fed estimated Sandy, which hit the Northeast in late October, may have reduced industrial production by "nearly 1 percent," curtailing the output of electricity, chemicals, food, transportation equipment and electronics. In October, the manufacturing index fell 0.9 percent, although "excluding storm-related effects, factory output was roughly unchanged from September," the monthly report said. Output at U.S. mines rose 1.5 percent in October while production at utility companies slipped 0.1 percent. Capacity utilization -- measuring production as a percentage of manufacturing, mining and utilities operating at full steam -- fell 0.4 in September to 77.8 percent, 2.5 percentage points less than its 1972-2011 average.