Global| Jun 03 2014U.S. Factory Sector Orders and Inventories Strengthen
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
New orders to all manufacturers increased 0.7% (4.9% y/y) during April following a 1.5% March advance, revised from 1.1%. A 0.6% rise was expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The gain reflected a 0.6% rise (7.1% y/y) in [...]
New orders to all manufacturers increased 0.7% (4.9% y/y) during April following a 1.5% March advance, revised from 1.1%. A 0.6% rise was expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The gain reflected a 0.6% rise (7.1% y/y) in durable goods orders, led higher by a 13.2% surge (5.8% y/y) in defense aircraft & parts bookings. Factory sector orders excluding transportation rose 0.5% (3.8% y/y), the weakest gain of the last three months. Orders for nondurable goods (which equal shipments) improved 0.7% (3.0% y/y), making up a 0.5% March decline. The rise reflected a 1.5% rebound (4.1% y/y) in shipments from oil refineries and a 0.7% recovery (-0.2% y/y) in basic chemicals shipments. Shipments from textile mills gained 0.2% (3.2% y/y) and food product shipments rose 0.2% (6.4% y/y).
Inventories in the factory sector matched expectations and increased 0.4% (2.8% y/y) after a 0.2% March rise. In the durable goods sector, inventories rose 0.2% (4.4% y/y), the same as in March. Transportation equipment inventories gained 0.3% (8.9% y/y) and furniture inventories increased 0.8% (2.6% y/y). Working lower were electrical equipment, appliance & computer inventories by 0.2% (-0.9% y/y), off 2.8% during the last six months. Inventories of computers & electronic products fell 0.6% (+3.4% y/y). Amongst nondurable goods industries, inventories increased 0.7% (0.5% y/y). The gain was led by a 3.8% jump (2.6% y/y) in petroleum and a 2.7% rise (22.3% y/y) in apparel inventories. Offsetting these gains was a 0.2% fall (-1.3 y/y) in chemical inventories while paper product inventories declined 0.8% (-0.5% y/y).
Unfilled orders jumped 0.9% (8.1% y/y), strong for the second consecutive month. Excluding the transportation sector, backlogs rose 0.8% (6.0% y/y). Backlogs of electrical equipment surged 2.4% (10.4% y/y). Unfilled orders in the machinery sector rose 0.8% (10.0% y/y) and unfilled orders for transportation equipment improved 1.0% (9.5% y/y). Unfilled orders of furniture rose 0.4% (3.6% y/) and fabricated metals backlogs gained 0.5% (-2.1% y/y).
The factory sector figures are available in Haver's USECON database.
| Factory Sector- NAICS Classification | Apr | Mar | Feb | Y/Y | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orders | 0.7 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 4.9 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 12.9 |
| Shipments | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 3.9 | 2.1 | 4.0 | 12.1 |
| Inventories | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 10.2 |
| Unfilled Orders | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 8.1 | 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.
