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ndustrial production rose 0.4% in July, the third increase in the past four months, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday.

The increase in production at the nation's factories, mines and utilities followed June's revised 0.5% drop. The proportion of industrial capacity in use rose to 77.1% from 76.9%, the Fed said.

Economists expected the index to rise 0.5%, Bloomberg reported.

The manufacturing sector is one of trucking’s largest and most important customers, and when it is growing, the demand for trucking services generally rises.

Work at factories, which accounts for almost 90% of industrial production, rose 0.6% last month, the most since April. Factories operated at 76.3% of full capacity, their fastest pace since April 2001, the report said.

The Fed said business equipment production, including transportation and information processing equipment, rose 1.5% in July after increasing 0.4% the month before.

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