Global| Jul 05 2011U.S. Factory Orders, Inventories & Backlogs Rise
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Manufacturing orders recovered 0.8% during May after a 0.9% April drop. Consensus expectations were for a 0.9% rise. For durable goods only, orders rose 2.1% which was revised up slightly from 1.9% reported initially. Nondurable goods [...]
Manufacturing orders recovered 0.8% during May after a 0.9% April drop. Consensus expectations were for a 0.9% rise. For durable goods only, orders rose 2.1% which was revised up slightly from 1.9% reported initially. Nondurable goods orders, which equal shipments, slipped 0.2% (+16.5% y/y) due to a 2.6% decline (+42.2% y/y) in oil refineries. Apparel shipments also fell 0.9% (+2.7% y/y) but chemical shipments rose 2.2% (12.0% y/y).
Inventories in the factory sector rose 0.8% (13.3% y/y) during May. Durable inventories jumped 1.3% (13.2% y/y). The rise was countered, however, as lower prices caused a 3.0% decline (+47.4% y/y) in oil refineries. That led a 0.1% slip in the nondurable total. Elsewhere, apparel inventories rose 0.9% (24.3% y/y) and basic chemicals rose 1.4% (7.3% y/y). Growth in unfilled orders accelerated to 0.9%. The 6.3% y/y gain still masks, however, the strength of a 13.7% rise in backlogs less the transportation sector. It was led by a one-third gain in backlogs of machinery and a 22.0% gain in electrical equipment, appliances & components.
The factory sector figures are available in Haver's USECON database.
New Study Shows That Economic Slack Must Be Below or Above Certain Levels To Have A Meaningful Effect On Inflation from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York can be found here.
| Factory Sector - NAICS Classification (%) | May | Apr | Mar | Y/Y | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orders | 0.8 | -0.9 | 3.8 | 13.3 | 12.9 | -17.7 | 0.5 |
| Shipments | 0.1 | -0.4 | 3.1 | 11.9 | 8.6 | -18.5 | 2.3 |
| Inventories | 0.8 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 13.3 | 8.7 | -6.8 | -2.1 |
| Unfilled Orders | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 6.3 | 3.9 | -15.2 | 4.3 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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