WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The output of the nation's factories, mines and utilities plunged 1.4% in February, the Federal Reserve said Monday. Output has fallen in four straight months and five out of the last six months. The February decline was worse than expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. Analysts had been expecting a 0.9% drop. Output in January was also slightly weaker than previously estimated. Output fell a revised 1.9% in January, compared with the initial estimate of a 1.8% drop. Capacity utilization - a gauge of slack in the econony -- fell to 70.9%. This matches a record low for the series which dates back to the late 1960s. For factories alone, capacity in use fell to a new record post-war low of 67.4.0%.
