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Economy in Brief
Kansas City Federal Reserve Factory Index Hits Record High
The Kansas City Fed reported that its index of regional manufacturing sector business activity surged to a record 26...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Decline Sharply
Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell sharply to 209,000 (-17.1% y/y)...
German Confidence Flattens and Falters
German confidence for May is mooted at a 97.8% queue percentile standing...
U.S. Mortgage Loan Applications Are Little Changed; Rates Remain High
The MBA total Mortgage Applications Volume Index eased 0.2% last week (-1.9% y/y)...
Japan Shows Very Moderate Growth As Trade War Clouds Gather
Japan’s sector indexes showed a solid gain in February...
by Tom Moeller August 30, 2005
Factory inventories rose 0.5% in July, the most for any one month since February. The rise, however, was very much a function of the 5.9% (19.2% y/y) jump in inventories at petroleum refineries. Nevertheless, less petroleum factory inventories rose 0.2%, the first monthly rise since March. Benchmark revisions made on August 19th extended back to 1992 and generally lowered the level of factory inventories.
A 1.5% (10.2% y/y) rise in machinery inventories led last month's accumulation and it was the strongest monthly gain since January. That was accompanied by a 0.8% (-1.1% y/y) rise in computer inventories and a 0.4% (4.7% y/y) gain in the electrical equipment industry.
Factory shipments surged 0.7%, but again the strength of the gain reflected higher oil prices. Less a 6.4% jump in shipments from petroleum refineries, factory shipments rose just 0.3% (4.8% y/y) following a 0.3% decline in June. Strength concentrated in the electrical equipment industry where shipments rose 1.0% (5.0% y/y) and in the computer industry where shipments rose 0.4% (8.3% y/y). Machinery shipments fell 0.1% (+4.9% y/y).
Factory sector orders fell 1.9% reflecting an unrevised advance report of a 4.9% decline in durables orders which were down due to lower aircraft orders.
Unfilled orders surged another 1.0% and again reflected higher backlogs of nondefense aircraft & parts (28.4% y/y), but industry gains elsewhere were broad based. The ratio of unfilled orders to shipments outside of transportation dipped slightly but remained elevated versus the lows of earlier this year.
Factory Survey (NAICS) | July | June | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Inventories | 0.5% | 0.1% | 6.0% | 7.7% | -1.1% | -5.4% |
New Orders | -1.9% | 0.9% | 6.3% | 9.3% | 3.5% | -2.5% |
Shipments | 0.7% | 0.0% | 6.6% | 9.5% | 1.5% | -2.5% |
Unfilled Orders | 1.0% | 2.8% | 8.9% | 8.4% | 8.0% | -8.5% |