Global| Jan 04 2012U.S. Factory Orders Sharply Increase And Inventories Build
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Manufacturing orders jumped an expected 1.8% (11.6% y/y) during November following a little-revised 0.2% October slip. Higher orders for durable goods powered the increase with a 3.7% rise, roughly unchanged from the advance report. [...]
Manufacturing orders jumped an expected 1.8% (11.6% y/y) during November following a little-revised 0.2% October slip. Higher orders for durable goods powered the increase with a 3.7% rise, roughly unchanged from the advance report. This gain owed to a three-quarters rise in commercial aircraft. Nondurable goods orders, which equal shipments, rose 0.3% (11.1% y/y). A 1.3% increase (14.3% y/y) in apparel was behind the rise along with a 1.0% gain (25.2% y/y) in petroleum shipments. Offsetting these were a 0.2% decline (+9.3% y/y) in food products and a 0.4% decline (+2.4% y/y) in textile mills.
Unfilled orders jumped 1.3% (7.0% y/y) led by a 1.4% rise (5.0% y/y) in transportation equipment. Less transportation, backlogs rose 1.0% (12.1% y/y) led by machinery (28.0% y/y) and electrical equipment (18.1% y/y). Order backlogs of furniture rose just 1.4% y/y.
Inventories in the factory sector increased another 0.5% (10.9% y/y) during November as durable goods inventories rose 0.6% (11.3% y/y). Transportation inventories rose 15.9% y/y while inventories of machinery rose 13.3% y/y. Nondurables inventories rose 0.3% (10.2% y/y) reflecting a 26.9% jump in oil. Apparel inventories also were strong and rose 0.9% (20.4% y/y) but basic chemicals fell 1.1% (+8.2% y/y).
The factory sector figures are available in Haver's USECON database. The expectation figure is in AS1REPNA.
| Factory Sector - NAICS Classification (%) | Nov | Oct | Sep | Y/Y | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orders | 1.8 | -0.2 | -0.1 | 11.6 | 12.9 | -21.7 | 0.5 |
| Shipments | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 10.2 | 8.6 | -18.5 | 2.3 |
| Inventories | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 10.9 | 8.7 | -6.8 | -2.1 |
| Unfilled Orders | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 7.9 | 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.
