U.S. industrial production increased 0.5% in November as output at the nation's factories reached the highest level since January 2019.

The November gain followed an even larger 1.7% increase in October, a rebound from a 1% decline in September, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday.

There were severe supply chain problems afflicting manufacturers in September that reduced output at U.S. auto plants, on top of the adverse effects from refinery shutdowns along the Gulf Coast because of Hurricane Ida.

Manufacturing output in November was up 0.7% while .production in mining, which covers oil and gas production, also rose 0.7%. However, output at the nation's utilities fell 0.8%.