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Economy in Brief
U.S. Housing Affordability Fell Back in February, but Still in Recent Range
The NAR U.S. Fixed Rate Mortgage Housing Affordability Index decreased 7.6% (-1.4% y/y) in February to 173.1...
European New Car Registrations Remarkably Strong Yet Forgettable
Car registrations are not going to be the only statistic that bears these dual and seemingly dueling characteristics...
U.S. Retail Sales Soar in March
Total retail sales including food service and drinking establishments increased 9.8% (27.7% y/y) during March...
U.S. Industrial Production Rebounded in March
Industrial production rebounded in March, rising 1.4% m/m (+1.0% y/y)...
U.S. Home Builder Index Edges Higher in April
The NAHB-Wells Fargo Composite Housing Market Index rose 1.2% to 83 during April...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller June 2, 2015
New orders in the manufacturing sector edged 0.4% lower during April (-6.4% y/y) following a 2.2% March increase, revised from 2.1%. Durable goods orders declined 1.0% (-2.8% y/y) following a 5.1% rise. The drop compared to a 0.5% easing in the advance report. Orders for computers & electronic products declined 4.0% (+3.0% y/y) and transportation orders fell 2.4% (-5.1% y/y). Offsetting these declines was a 0.9% rise (-7.3% y/y) in machinery orders and a 1.0% gain (-0.5% y/y) in fabricated metals. Nondurable goods orders (which equal shipments) improved 0.2% (-9.6% y/y) after a 0.4% decline. Textile products orders increased 2.2% (0.5% y/y), paper product orders gained 0.8% (3.4% y/y) and basic chemical orders rose 0.5% (-4.1% y/y). To the downside, petroleum refinery orders fell 0.2% (-31.6% y/y) and food product orders were off 0.5% (-2.5% y/y).
Shipments of durable goods slipped 0.2% (+3.2% y/y) after a 1.5% rise. Transportation sector shipments eased 0.3% (+10.0% y/y) and electrical equipment shipments slipped 0.1% (+1.7% y/y). Offsetting these declines was a 0.4% rise (-1.0% y/y) in machinery shipments and a 0.1% gain (+2.2% y/y) in shipments of computers & electronic products.
Unfilled orders eased 0.1% (+7.0% y/y) following a 0.1% gain. Machinery backlogs were off 1.1% (-1.7% y/y) and fabricated metals unfilled orders fell 0.5% (+12.5% y/y). These declines were offset by a 0.6% rise (8.9% y/y) in electrical equipment and no change in transportation equipment backlogs (9.0% y/y).
Inventories in the factory sector inched 0.1% higher (0.1% y/y) extending little change during the prior two months. Durable goods inventories rose 0.2% (5.0% y/y) as electrical equipment inventories gained 1.0% (6.6% y/y). Transportation equipment inventories rose 0.4% (7.6% y/y) while electrical equipment inventories gained 0.3% (2.3% y/y). Nondurable goods inventories slipped 0.1% (-7.0% y/y) as a 2.3% rise (16.8% y/y) in apparel inventories was offset by a 0.4% decline (-3.3% y/y) in basic chemicals. Textile mill inventories also were off 1.2% (-1.6% y/y) and textile products inventories declined 0.4% (-4.1% y/y).
The factory sector figures are available in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figure from the Action Economics Forecast Survey is available in AS1REPNA.
Factory Sector- NAICS Classification (%) | Apr | Mar | Feb | Y/Y | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New Orders | -0.4 | 2.2 | -1.0 | -6.4 | 3.4 | 2.2 | 4.4 |
Shipments | -0.0 | 0.5 | 0.1 | -3.6 | 2.5 | 2.1 | 4.4 |
Unfilled Orders | -0.1 | 0.1 | -0.6 | 7.0 | 11.4 | 6.4 | 7.5 |
Inventories | 0.1 | -0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 3.8 |