U.S. industrial output for September fell by 1.3% in a sign that ongoing supply chain problems are continuing to choke manufacturers and take a toll on the economy.

In the latest report by the Federal Reserve, the central bank said that most of the weakness came from a drop in the number of consumer goods and materials. The consumer goods index fell 1.9% with the biggest declines in durables like automotive products and consumer energy goods.

Lingering effects of Hurricane Ida, which swept across the South and Northeast at the end of August, explain some of this fall. The Fed reports that Ida likely contributed to an estimated 0.3% decrease in manufacturing and a 0.6% drop in overall output. Insurers estimated that Ida likely caused up to $20 billion or more in damages.

The Federal Reserve has warned frequently that ongoing bottlenecks in global supply chains were among its major concerns. Since the COVID-19 virus emerged, suppliers have struggled to keep pace with demand as coronavirus outbreaks shut down factories and ports overseas.

In the U.S., there is a renewed focus on how to address some of these supply chain problems. Last week, President Joe Biden announced plans to reduce the current shipping backlog at U.S. ports like Los Angeles by operating 24 hours a day to ensure stores remain stocked.

The hope is that by raising the amount of supply available, it will reduce inflation, which some consumers fear may last longer than either the president or the central bank believes. In the last month, two key inflation measurements, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Personal Consumption Expenditure index (PCE) reflected the rise in consumer good prices.

Despite the fall in total industrial production, the Fed's index showed growth in the third quarter of 2021. According to the data, the index rose 5.3% at an annual rate with durable goods, with the exception of automobile parts, growing by 0.5% with 1% or more growth in metals, electrical goods, furniture and aerospace products.

Nondurables, like textile production, also showed 2.7% growth between September 2021 and the same period in 2020.

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