The Federal Reserve reported Monday that in February the operating rate of U.S. factories dropped to 67.4% of capacity, the lowest level since 1948. Why is this a 61-year record? Because 1948 was the year the government started keeping records. The biggest monthly drops were in the production of natural gas (-12.5%), production of electricity (-6.5%), textiles (-4.6%) and primary metals (-4.2%). Production of motor vehicles rose 10.2% and automotive parts manufacturing was up 8.5%.