US factory production increased by the most in nearly a year in January, offering hope for a manufacturing sector that has been squeezed by import tariffs and high interest rates.
Manufacturing output rose 0.6 per cent last month, the largest gain since February 2025, after being unchanged in December, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday.
Economists had earlier forecast production for the sector, which accounts for 10.1 per cent of the economy, would rise 0.4 per cent. Output in December was previously reported to have risen 0.2 per cent.
Production at factories advanced by 2.4 per cent on a year-over-year basis in January.
Manufacturing has been hobbled by President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, which business leaders say have raised costs for factories and consumers.
Trump has defended his punitive import duties as necessary to restore a long-declining domestic industrial base. The manufacturing sector lost more than 80,000 jobs last year.
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