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Economy in Brief
German PPI Accelerates
The German year-on-year PPI has generally been decelerating since early 2017...
U.S. Leading Economic Indicators Signal Continued Expansion
The Conference Board's Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators increased 0.3% during March...
Philadelphia Fed Factory Conditions Improve; Prices Jump
The Philadelphia Fed reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index rose to 23.2 during April...
U.S. Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Are Little Changed
Initial unemployment insurance claims slipped to 232,000 (-6.1% y/y) during the week ended April 14...
U.K. Retail Sales Fall
U.K. GDP is expected to cool its jets when the first quarter GDP number is released...
by Tom Moeller January 6, 2016
New orders in the manufacturing sector fell 0.2% during November (-3.5% y/y) following a 1.3% October increase, revised from 1.5%. The decline compared to expectations for a 0.1% increase in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The shortfall reflected little change (+2.3% y/y) in durable goods orders which were unrevised from the advance report. The figure contained a 22.2% decline (-10.4% y/y) in nondefense aircraft & parts orders. Factory sector orders excluding the transportation altogether eased 0.3% (-5.7% y/y) following a 0.1% gain. Orders for nondurable goods (which equal shipments) fell 0.4% (-8.7% y/y), off for the fifth straight month. A 1.7% decline (-36.1% y/y) in shipments from petroleum refineries was the fifth consecutive drop as prices fell. Also dipping by 0.2% (-1.8% y/y) were food product shipments. Basic chemical shipments eased 0.2% (+1.1% y/y). Apparel shipments rebounded 1.1% but they were up negligibly versus last year. Durable goods shipments recovered 0.8% (3.2% y/y), led by a 0.9% increase (9.3% y/y) in computers.
Unfilled orders in the manufacturing sector increased 0.2% (-2.2% y/y). Transportation sector backlogs rose 0.2% (-2.4% y/y), despite a 0.4% fall (-1.8% y/y) in nondefense aircraft & parts. Outside of the transportation sector, backlogs improved 0.2% (-2.0% y/y). Electrical equipment backlogs fell 0.6% (-4.7% y/y), the eighth decline in as many months. Computer & electronic product backlogs gained 0.7% (5.7% y/y).
Factory sector inventories fell 0.3% (-2.3% y/y), about as they have during the last five months. Outside of the transportation sector, inventories were off 0.1% (-3.2% y/y), off for the fifth consecutive month. Primary metals inventories fell 1.2% (-10.4% y/y) and machinery inventories eased 0.1% (-1.4% y/y). Electrical equipment & appliance inventories declined 0.2% (-1.3% y/y) while computer & electronic product inventories fell 0.4% (+0.1% 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 (%) | Nov | Oct | Sep | Y/Y | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New Orders | -0.2 | 1.3 | -0.8 | -3.5 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 4.7 |
Shipments | 0.2 | -0.7 | -0.3 | -3.1 | 2.6 | 1.9 | 4.7 |
Unfilled Orders | 0.2 | 0.3 | -0.5 | -2.2 | 11.5 | 6.5 | 7.8 |
Inventories | -0.3 | -0.2 | -0.5 | -2.3 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 3.8 |