WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. industrial production fell 0.8 percent in October, posting the biggest drop since May 2018, the U.S. Federal Reserve said Friday.

Manufacturing production decreased 0.6 percent in October, the largest since April.

"Much of this decline" was due to a drop of 7.1 percent in the output of motor vehicles and parts that resulted from the General Motors strike, the U.S. Fed said in a report.

Excluding motor vehicles and parts, the index for total industrial production in October moved down 0.5 percent, and the index for manufacturing edged down 0.1 percent, the report showed. Mining production decreased 0.7 percent, while utilities output fell 2.6 percent.

Data from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) also showed that economic activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector contracted in October, the third month in a row.

The October decline of industrial production followed a 0.3-percent drop in September. Total industrial production was 1.1 percent lower in October than it was a year earlier, the central bank said. Enditem