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Getty Images A worker walks among rolls of semi-finished aluminum at the Alcoa aluminum factory.
The numbers: U.S. industrial production jumped 1.1% in November, the biggest gain in more than two years, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday. The gain was close to Wall Street expectations of a 1.2% rise.
But for the past year, production in still down 0.8%. Output had been down in three of the past five months.
What happened: Manufacturing surged 1.1% in November, led by a 12.4% gain in production of cars and trucks and related parts. This is a rebound following the end of the United Auto Workers strike against General Motors GM, +0.33% in October. Excluding motor vehicles and parts, total industrial output was up 0.5%, while manufacturing was up 0.3%, the Fed said.
The output of utilities rose 2.9% in November, while mining production was down 0.2%.
Capacity utilization jumped to 77.3% in November from 76.6% in the prior month. The capacity utilization rate reflects the limits to operating the nation’s factories, mines and utilities. It’s still below pre-recession levels, above 80%, that could fan production costs and prices.
Big picture: Economists think the GM strike is just transitory noise in the data. There are still deep issues facing the factory sector as businesses pull back investment plans and global trade flows shrink. Still, many economists are talking about how the factory sector is stabilizing.
Market reaction: Stock index futures held their gains after the data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.05% rallied 100 points on Monday.
