U.S. industrial production kept flat in October after the first decline in 21 months in the previous month, the Federal Reserve reported Tuesday.

The October industrial production an indicator of the output of mines, factories and utilities followed a drop of 0.2 percent in September.

Manufacturing output, the largest component of the overall industrial production, increased 0.5 percent last month, led by increased output of long-lasting goods such as autos, appliances and business equipment.

The output of mines in October dropped 0.1 percent, and utilities output declined 3.4 percent.

The report also showed that overall industrial capacity utilization a key measure of slack in the industrial economy also kept unchanged at 74.8 percent in October.

Manufacturing industry has shown strong performance since the U.S. economy began to recover from the recession in the second half of last year.