--US February industrial output -0.6%; manufacturing -0.4%
--US February factory output ex-autos -0.5%; auto output -0.1%
--US January industrial output revised to -0.6% from -0.3%
--US capacity use: Feb 79.4%; January revised to 80.1% from 80.2%
--US February capacity use lowest since February 1992
--US February utilities output -2.3%; mining -0.5%
--US February business equipment output -0.3%; materials -0.6%
--US February consumer goods output -0.5%; construction supplies -0.9%
--US February high-tech output +0.8%
--US February industrial output ex-high tech -0.7%

By Simon Kennedy
Washington, March 16 (BridgeNews) - U.S. industry remained stuck in recession as output contracted for the fifth straight month, falling a bigger-than-expected 0.6% in February. The decline was exacerbated by a revised drop of the same margin in January. The nation's factories, utilities and mines all saw production fall, while the capacity utilization rate dropped to 79.4%--the lowest level since February 1992, when the economy was escaping recession. Analysts had forecast a 0.3% dip in production and a 79.8% utilization rate.
* * * January's slide in production was initially reported as having matched the 0.3% falls of the prior two months. In February, output was up 1.2% compared to a year ago, the Federal Reserve said Friday. The report underscores the moribund state of American manufacturing which was tipped into recession at the end of last year by a combination of bloated inventories, high interest rates, weakening demand and lofty energy bills.
Before the report's release, analysts had said that a reduced workweek in the nation's factories and ensuing pessimism regarding the outlook for activity would again depress output.
Such toils have prompted some to predict large layoffs and further cutbacks in production which could destabilize an already faltering economy. The Fed has sought to head off a general recession by cutting interest rates 100 basis points since Jan. 3 and is expected to slash borrowing costs again Tuesday, by at least 50 basis points.

WHAT WAS EXPECTED
Private forecasters, as surveyed by BridgeNews, expected output to drop between 0.1% and 0.7% in January. Estimates for the capacity utilization rate ranged from 79.4% to 80.0%.