Global| May 03 2011U.S. Factory Orders & Shipments Jump
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Factory sector activity recovered during March. Manufacturing orders jumped 3.0% after a 0.7% February gain that was revised up from a 0.1% slip reported earlier. For durable goods only, orders rose 2.9%, revised from the 2.5% [...]
Factory sector activity recovered during March. Manufacturing orders jumped 3.0% after a 0.7% February gain that was revised up from a 0.1% slip reported earlier. For durable goods only, orders rose 2.9%, revised from the 2.5% increase reported last week. Consensus expectations were for a 1.9% increase in total factory orders. As a result of the strong monthly increase, y/y growth rose to 11.5%. The strength in orders was accompanied by a 2.7% increase in shipments. As reported earlier, much of the monthly gain was due to the transportation sector.
A strong rate of inventory building continued to power the gains in orders & shipments. The 1.1% monthly increase raised the y/y gain to 10.3%. These improvements in shipments, inventories and orders mirror the strength in March industrial production reported earlier this month. Unfilled orders also continued to strengthen last month by 0.8%. The 5.8% y/y gain masks, however, the strength of a 13.1% rise in backlogs less the transportation sector. It was led by a 29.4% y/y gain in backlogs of machinery orders and a 22.3% gain in electrical equipment, appliance & components.
The factory orders figures are available in Haver's USECON database.
| Factory Sector - NAICS Classification (%) | Mar | Feb | Jan | Y/Y | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orders | 3.0 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 11.5 | 12.1 | -17.8 | -1.0 |
| Shipments | 2.7 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 9.9 | 9.1 | -15.6 | 2.3 |
| Inventories | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 10.3 | 8.3 | -8.8 | -0.8 |
| Backlogs | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 5.8 | 4.0 | -11.1 | 2.8 |
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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