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Economy in Brief
U.S. Construction Spending Unexpectedly Dips in May After Seven Straight Monthly Rises
The value of construction put-in-place ticked down 0.1% m/m (+9.7% y/y) in May...
Developed Economies Manufacturing Sectors Hit Hard in June
Among the 18 countries in the table that report manufacturing PMI data in June, only four show m/m improvements...
U.S. Income Gained, Spending Slowed in May
Personal income growth remained solid while household spending slowed in May...
U.S. Chicago Business Barometer Falls Back in June to the Lowest Level since Aug. '20
The ISM-Chicago Purchasing Managers Business Barometer fell to 56.0...
U.S. Unemployment Claims Edged Down
Initial claims for unemployment insurance filed in the week ended June 25 declined by 2,000 to 231,000...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller March 6, 2018
Manufacturers' orders declined 1.4% (+6.6% y/y) during January following a 1.8% December rise, revised from 1.7% reported initially. Total factory orders excluding transportation improved 0.4% (6.5% y/y), the weakest rise since June. Durable goods orders slumped 3.6% (+7.0% y/y), revised from -3.7% in the advance report, following a 2.7% gain. Transportation equipment orders cratered 10.0% (+6.9% y/y) due to a 28.4% decline in civilian aircraft bookings. Machinery orders eased 0.4% (+7.4% y/y) after a 0.6% rise. Electrical equipment orders fell 0.6% (+0.1% y/y) following a 2.8% drop, but orders for computers & electronic products rose 0.5% (6.7% y/y) after a 0.2% gain.
Nondurable goods orders, which equal shipments, improved 0.8% (6.2% y/y) after a 0.9% rise. The value of petroleum & coal product shipments surged 3.5% (19.7% y/y) after six consecutive months of strong gain. Shipments of food products improved 0.5% (3.2% y/y) reflecting a 1.5% jump (4.3% y/y) in meat product shipments. Textile product shipments inched 0.1% higher (4.5% y/y) after a 0.8% decline. Apparel shipments jumped 1.4% (2.9% y/y) on the heels of even stronger gains in the prior two months. Basic chemical shipments eased 0.1% (+5.0% y/y) following a 0.6% rise.
Shipments of durable goods improved 0.3% (6.0% y/y) after a 0.5% rise. Machinery shipments were unchanged (8.8% y/y) following a 0.7% strengthening. Computer & electronic product shipments rose 0.7% (4.4% y/y), the strongest rise in three months. Electrical equipment shipments rose 0.9% (4.0% y/y) after a 0.6% rise. Transportation product shipment rose 0.7% (4.4% y/y) reflecting a 0.6% gain in aircraft & parts (-3.2% y/y).
Unfilled orders fell 0.3% (+2.0% y/y) overall, but excluding transportation they rose 0.2% (4.6% y/y). Transportation equipment backlogs fell 0.5% (+0.8% y/y) due to a 2.0% decline in defense products. Unfilled orders of durable goods eased 0.3% (+2.0% y/y) after a 0.6% rise. Machinery backlogs gained 0.2% (4.4% y/y) on the heels of three months of stronger increase. Unfilled orders of computer & electronic products rose 0.1% (2.1% y/y) for the second straight month. Electrical equipment & appliance backlogs declined 1.3% (-0.1% y/y), the first decline in six months.
Inventories of manufactured products rose 0.3% (4.0% y/y) after two months of stronger gain. Inventories outside of transportation improved 0.2% (4.6% y/y) following two months of 0.7% increase. Durable goods inventories rose 0.3% (4.4% y/y) after a 0.5% rise. Computer & electronic product inventories gained 0.3% (3.9% y/y) after a 0.2% rise, but machinery inventories were fairly steady (5.5% y/y) after two months of 0.5% increase. Nondurable product inventories rose 0.3% (3.4% y/y) after a 0.9% gain reflecting a 2.2% rise (15.4% y/y) in petroleum refinery inventories. Apparel inventories rose 0.7% (-1.4% y/y) after a 2.0% jump, and basic chemical inventories held steady (2.0% y/y) following two months of 0.3% rise. Food product inventories eased 0.3% (0.0% y/y) after a 0.6% rise.
All these factory sector figures are available in Haver's USECON database.
Factory Sector (% chg) - NAICS Classification | Jan | Dec | Nov | Jan Y/Y | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New Orders | -1.4 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 6.6 | 6.0 | -1.9 | -7.7 |
Shipments | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 6.1 | 5.2 | -1.8 | -5.8 |
Unfilled Orders | -0.3 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 2.0 | 1.9 | -1.9 | -2.0 |
Inventories | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 0.7 | 0.0 |