Output from US factories, mines and utilities tumbled by a surprisingly sharp 1.3 per cent in September due to a big drop in oil and gas output after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
A Federal Reserve report found the fall was the largest decline in industrial production since January 1982, when output fell 1.9 per cent, the Federal Reserve said.
Manufacturing production fell 0.5 per cent in September as mining output, which includes oil and natural gas extraction, plunged 9.1 per cent, the report said.
Businesses ran at an operating rate of 78.6 per cent in September, slower than forecast. Analysts were expecting capacity utilisation at 79.6 per cent.