Manufacturing Rate Rises 5.2%

WASHINGTON —  Manufacturing productivity improved at an annual rate of 5.2% in the third quarter as factories squeezed out 7.2% more goods with an increase of only 1.8% in the number of hours worked, the government said today.

The increase in efficiency on assembly lines responsible for one-fourth of the nation’s economic activity was the best since the spring of 1987, when manufacturing productivity was improving at an annual rate of 5.5%. Over the last 12 months, the labor costs associated with each item coming off an assembly line are up only 0.4%. They had declined 1.2% for all of 1987.