Manufacturing output across five U.S. Midwest states saw moderate increases in December, according to latest data released by Chicago's Federal Reserve Bank on Monday.

The Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index (CFMMI), a monthly estimate of the Midwestern manufacturing output, increased 1.7 percent in December compared to November and 8.4 percent from a year earlier.

The U.S. Industrial Production-Manufacturing Index (IPMFG) also increased by 0.9 percent last month compared to the previous month and 4 percent compared to December 2010.

Production in all four Midwest manufacturing sectors posted gains in December, and the numbers for the region's automotive and steel industries were particularly strong.

In December the auto industry saw a year-on-year increase of 14.8 percent in the region, compared to 9.8 percent nationally, while the regional steel production increased 14.6 percent and the national output witnessed a 8.5 percent year-on-year growth.

The machinery manufacturing sector also fared particularly well in the Midwest District, which is made up of the states of Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin.

Its production increased 2.5 percent month-on-month in December and 12.1 percent year-on-year. Nationally, the machinery output increased 3.9 percent since December 2010 and 1.2 percent for the month.

Resource manufacturing both regionally and nationally stayed fairly the same in December as its output grew 0.9 percent in December but edged down 0.4 percent since the same period of 2010.

The numbers indicated the continued gradual recovery of the U.S. manufacturing industry, a positive trend mentioned by President Barack Obama in his State of the Union address last week.

The country's manufacturing was especially hit hard following the 2008 financial crisis, after which the national production output fell about 20 percent compared to 2007 levels.

The Midwest, home to manufacturing giant Michigan, was even more adversely affected by the economic recession as the region's manufacturing in 2009 fell about 32 percent compared to its 2007 levels.

Although the latest manufacturing data still notably remained below their 2007 levels, they had nevertheless strongly improved compared to the bleak days of 2009.

The CFMMI now remains only 12.6 percent below 2007 levels, while the IPMFG has improved to only 6.8 percent behind 2007 production totals.