(Bloomberg) -- U.S. factory output dropped in March by the most since 1946 as a rolling wave of shutdowns related to the coronavirus crippled the manufacturing sector.
Production slumped 6.3% from the prior month followed a 0.1% decrease in February, Federal Reserve data showed Wednesday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 4.1% decline. Overall industrial production -- which also includes output at mines and utilities -- also declined by the most since 1946.