A worker loads a tray of green rubber to be molded into golfball cores at the Acushnet Holdings Corp. Titleist Ball Plant III facility in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

U.S. industrial production fell in April, dragged by a big drop in factory output as production of autos and auto parts continued to slide.

The Federal Reserve says industrial output — reflecting total production at factories, utilities and mines — dropped 0.5% in April after a 0.2% March gain. Industrial production fell 0.5% in February.

Manufacturing output fell 0.5%, led by a 2.6% decline in motor vehicles and parts, which has fallen in three of the past four months.

Production at the nation's utilities fell a sharp 3.5%. Production at mines, a sector that also covers oil and gas drilling, rose 1.6%.

Manufacturing has struggled over the past year, reflecting weakness in auto sales and the global economy.