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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 June 04, 2018
Manufacturers' orders declined 0.8% (7.4% y/y) during April following little-changed estimates of strong growth during the prior two months. Manufacturing shipments held steady (7.2% y/y) after an upwardly 0.7% March gain.
Durable goods orders declined 1.6% (+7.9% y/y) during April, revised from -1.7% in last month's advance report, after a 2.7% rise. Orders for transportation equipment fell 6.0% (+7.8% y/y) due to a 28.9% decline in volatile civilian aircraft bookings. Total factory orders excluding transportation improved 0.4% (7.4% y/y). Machinery orders eased 0.7% (+2.6% y/y), the third decline in four months. Orders for computers & electronic products rose 1.1% (8.1% y/y) following a 1.5% jump.
Shipments of durable goods were unchanged (7.2% y/y) in April after a 0.7% increase. Shipments of transportation products fell 2.0% (+5.6% y/y) reflecting a 27.1% fall (-13.5% y/y) in civilian aircraft & parts. Machinery shipments improved 0.3% (7.4% y/y) after a 1.4% decline. Computer & electronic product shipments rose 1.2% (6.5% y/y). Electrical equipment shipments increased 1.8% (7.0% y/y).
Nondurable goods shipments, which equal nondurable goods orders because nondurables are shipped in the same period they are ordered, ticked 0.1% higher (7.0% y/y) after a 0.6% rise. Petroleum shipments increased 0.6% (26.8% y/y). Food products improved 0.5% (2.8% y/y). Basic chemical shipments eased 0.4% (+3.5% y/y) and paper product shipments fell 0.3% (+6.5% y/y).
Unfilled orders of durable goods rose 0.5% (3.7% y/y) after a 0.8% increase. Transportation equipment backlogs gained 0.5% (3.2% y/y). Excluding the transportation sector, unfilled orders rose 0.3% (4.7% y/y). Machinery backlogs slipped 0.5% (+3.4% y/y), the second consecutive monthly decline. Unfilled orders of computer & electronic products increased 0.1% (2.5% y/y) and electrical equipment & appliance backlogs rose 0.5% (-0.2% y/y), the same as in March.
Inventories of manufactured products gained 0.3% (5.0% y/y) and have been rising since late 2016. Durable goods inventories increased 0.3% (5.0% y/y). Transportation gained 0.3% (3.2% y/y). Inventories outside of transportation also grew 0.3% (5.4% y/y) for the third straight month. Machinery sector inventories rose 0.2% (5.2% y/y). Computer & electronic product inventories gained 0.2% (4.0% y/y). Nondurable goods inventories increased 0.3% (5.0% y/y). Basic chemical inventories rose 0.5% (2.9% y/y). Food product inventories eased 0.1% (+1.2% y/y). Petroleum refinery inventories jumped 0.9% (23.5% y/y).
All these factory sector figures are available in Haver's USECON database.
Factory Sector (% chg) - NAICS Classification | Apr | Mar | Feb | Apr Y/Y | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New Orders | -0.8 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 7.4 | 5.7 | -2.9 | -8.2 |
Shipments | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 7.2 | 5.0 | -3.2 | -6.2 |
Unfilled Orders | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 3.7 | 2.0 | -1.2 | -2.7 |
Inventories | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 5.0 | 4.5 | -0.7 | -0.8 |