stat du jour

March 16 (Bloomberg) -- Industrial production probably fell in February for the sixth time in seven months as cutbacks at automakers and collapsingexports rippled across the U.S., economists said before a report today.

The Federal Reserve may report that output at factories, mines and utilities dropped 1.3 percent last month, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Other figures may show manufacturing and homebuilding remained depressed this month.

The worst financial crisis in seven decades has choked off credit to consumers and businesses worldwide, leading to a slump in sales of cars, houses, airplanes and computers. Boeing Co. and United Technologies Corp. are among companies that have announced thousands of jobs will be cut to trim costs as the global economy contracts.

“We doubt a consumer-led recovery is very likely and firms continue to cut spending on new investment projects,” said Zach Pandl, an economist at Nomura Securities International Inc. in New York. “Firms likely cut output further.”

The Fed’s output report is due at 9:15 a.m. in Washington. Estimates by the 57 economists surveyed ranged from a decline of 2.2 percent to a 0.3 percent drop.

The proportion of plants in use probably dropped to 71 percent, the lowest since 1982, according to the survey median.

A Fed Bank of New York report at 8:30 a.m. may show manufacturing in that region shrank this month at the second- fastest pace since data began in 2001. The so-called Empire State index probably improved to minus 30.8 from February’s record-low minus 34.7.