Production at American factories accelerated in February 2022, indicating strength in the domestic manufacturing sector that has been rattled with high costs and persistent supply chain issues. Manufacturing output rose by 1.2 percent after remaining almost flat for the previous two months. This is the highest monthly gain in four months. In October, the index had risen by 1.7 percent, the Federal Reserve said in a March 17 news release. On a year-over-year basis, manufacturing activity in February 2022 increased by 7.4 percent when compared to the same month in 2021. The total industrial production index increased by 0.5 percent in February 2022 and 7.5 percent in a year-over-year comparison to February 2021. But the Fed said that that number could be misleading, due to other factors in 2021. “Severe winter weather in February 2021 significantly suppressed industrial activity that month. A more useful comparison shows that the [total industrial production] …