WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities rebounded slightly in November, after a soft patch in October, the Federal Reserve reported Friday. 
U.S. industrial production rose 0.3% last month, after production dropped 0.7% in October.
Capacity utilization rose to 81.5% in October from a revised 81.4% in the previous month.
The gain in production was slightly above estimates. Economists had been looking for November's production to rise 0.1%. Economists said the report didn't change the big picture that manufacturing is struggling to continue to expand outside of the export sector.
The data doesn't "change the big picture of slower Q4 GDP," said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at High Frequency Economics. Manufacturing output rose 0.4% in November. Output of automotive products increased 1.9%. Auto production had fallen for three straight months.
Excluding motor vehicles, manufacturing output rose 0.7% in the month
In the past year, U.S. manufacturing output is up 2.2%. Capacity utilization in manufacturing rose to 79.9% from 79.7%. Output of utilities sank 1.3% in November, because of a decline in electric utilities.
October's mining output rose 1.1%. Output of high-technology goods jumped 2.3% in November after rising 1.1% in the previous month. Semiconductor production rose 2.1%, while computer equipment output rose 1.7%. High-tech output is up 16.9% in the past year.
Production of consumer goods fell 0.2%, as consumer durable goods increased 0.9%, primarily reflecting the gain in auto production. Production of business equipment increased 0.9% in November. Business equipment output is up 4% in the past year.
Production of non-industrial supplies decreased 0.2% in November. Production of materials increased 0.5%. In a separate report, the Labor Department said consumer inflation rose at the highest level in more than two years in November.
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