Global| Aug 31 2012U.S. Factory Orders Surge
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
New orders in the manufacturing sector surged 2.8% during July following an unrevised 0.5% June fall. Expectations were for a 2.0% increase. Durable goods orders surged 4.1%, little revised from last week's advance report of a 4.2% [...]
New orders in the manufacturing sector surged 2.8% during July following an unrevised 0.5% June fall. Expectations were for a 2.0% increase. Durable goods orders surged 4.1%, little revised from last week's advance report of a 4.2% rise. A 14.4% rise (16.5% y/y) in transportation sector bookings drove the increase. Less transportation, total factory orders rose 0.7% (-0.6% y/y). Nondurable goods orders (which equal shipments) rose 1.5% (-0.6% y/y). That was led by a 2.7% gain (-2.5% y/y) in petroleum shipments with higher prices. Shipments of textile products rose 0.7% (4.7% y/y), basic chemicals shipments recovered 1.7% (-3.3% y/y) and shipments of paper products increased 0.7% (-1.6% y/y).
Inventories in the factory sector rose 0.5% during July, the first rise after three months of decline. Nevertheless, the 3.1% y/y rate of inventory accumulation was down from its 13.6% rate one year ago. Lower rates of accumulation occurred across industries. Unfilled orders rose 0.8% (8.0% y/y) but growth has weakened considerably this year.
The factory sector figures are available in Haver's USECON database. The expectation figure is in AS1REPNA.
| Factory Sector- NAICS Classification | Jul | Jun | May | Y/Y | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orders | 2.8 | -0.5 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 11.8 | 18.0 | -23.1 |
| Shipments | 2.0 | -1.2 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 11.8 | 11.2 | -18.8 |
| Inventories | 0.5 | -0.1 | -0.1 | 3.1 | 9.4 | 8.8 | -6.8 |
| Unfilled Orders | 0.8 | 0.4 | -0.0 | 8.0 | 10.3 | 9.6 | -19.5 |
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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