Global| Aug 05 2014U.S. Factory Sector Orders and Backlogs Increase
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
New orders to all manufacturers jumped 1.1% (1.5% y/y) in June following a 0.6% decline during May, revised from -0.5%. A 0.6% increase was expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. A 1.7% rebound (-0.6% y/y) in durable goods [...]
New orders to all manufacturers jumped 1.1% (1.5% y/y) in June following a 0.6% decline during May, revised from -0.5%. A 0.6% increase was expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. A 1.7% rebound (-0.6% y/y) in durable goods orders led the total higher. Factory sector orders excluding transportation equipment improved 0.8% (4.9% y/y), the third increase in the last four months. Orders for nondurable goods (which equal shipments) recovered 0.6% (3.5% y/y) but have improved just 0.6% since December. Shipments of plastics & rubber rebounded another 1.0% (4.5% y/y). Shipments from chemical plants improved 0.5% but were off 1.2% y/y. Textile mill shipments gained 0.5% (2.9% y/y) while apparel shipments jumped 2.6% (13.3% y/y).
Unfilled orders jumped 1.0% (6.8% y/y), strong for the fourth consecutive month. Excluding the transportation sector, order backlogs rose 1.2% (6.2% y/y). Backlogs of electrical equipment jumped 2.4% (10.3% y/y) and unfilled orders of furniture gained 1.8% (6.1% y/y). Unfilled orders in the machinery sector jumped 1.9% (12.5% y/y) but backlogs of computers & electronics rose just 0.6% (5.2% y/y).
Inventories in the factory sector improved a lessened 0.3% (4.0% y/y) after a 0.8% May rise. In the durable goods sector, inventories rose 0.4% (5.8% y/y) led by a 0.8% increase (4.8% y/y) in primary metals. Transportation sector inventories also gained 0.8% (10.7% y/y). Amongst nondurable goods industries, inventories ticked 0.1% higher (1.4% y/y), held back by a 0.6% decline in basic chemicals (-0.8% y/y). Apparel inventories offset this decline with a 1.9% rise and they're up by one-quarter over the last twelve months.
The factory sector figures are available in Haver's USECON database.
| Factory Sector- NAICS Classification | Jun | May | Apr | Y/Y | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orders | 1.1 | -0.6 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 12.9 |
| Shipments | 0.5 | -0.1 | 0.4 | 3.8 | 2.1 | 4.0 | 12.1 |
| Inventories | 0.3 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 4.0 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 10.2 |
| Unfilled Orders | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 6.8 | 7.0 | 3.7 | 10.0 |
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.
More Economy in Brief
