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verall economic growth in the United States slowed last month due to "lackluster" retail sales and "cooling" home sales, but manufacturing growth continued to increase, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.

The Fed made the comments in its regular survey and report on economic activity known as the "Beige Book." The report is released eight times a year from information compiled by each of the Fed's 12 district banks. This report was prepared by the San Francisco Fed and was based on information collected before Sept. 1.

Also Wednesday, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said in testimony to the House Budget Committee that the economy was pulling out of its recent soft patch and appeared to be picking up steam.

The Cleveland Fed said activity in the trucking and shipping services sector continued to be strong in July and early August and that many firms planned to purchase trucks to expand their fleets soon.

Around Atlanta, trucking companies were reporting strong demand for trucking services that allowed them to pass on higher fuel costs to customers. Some were benefiting from disaster relief in Florida and Georgia, the Fed said.

The Richmond Fed noted that manufacturing continued to exhibit solid growth, although trucking firms in Maryland and North Carolina reported little change in revenue growth in recent weeks. Manufacturers were also seeing more orders in the Philadelphia area, the report said.

he Fed also said manufacturers of heavy trucks around Chicago reported a "strong ramp-up in production," with one saying that increases in output were limited by shortages of parts.

And the New York Fed said volumes through the Port of New York and New Jersey rose substantially in July and August, which partly reflects a diversion of shipments from West Coast ports.