Global| May 04 2015U.S. Factory Sector Orders Surge With Aircraft
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
New orders in the manufacturing sector jumped an expected 2.1% (-4.0% y/y) during March following a 0.1% downtick in February, revised from 0.2%. The gain was driven by jumps in civilian & military aircraft orders. Durable goods [...]
New orders in the manufacturing sector jumped an expected 2.1% (-4.0% y/y) during March following a 0.1% downtick in February, revised from 0.2%. The gain was driven by jumps in civilian & military aircraft orders.
Durable goods orders surged 4.4% (1.2% y/y), revised from 4.0% as orders for defense aircraft doubled (16.9% y/y) and orders for commercial aircraft rose 30.6% (-3.1% y/y). Factory sector orders overall excluding the transportation sector increased 2.1% (-4.0% y/y). Computers & electronics orders jumped 7.2% (4.8% y/y) but machinery orders declined 1.4% (-11.5% y/y). Nondurable goods orders, which equal shipments, slipped 0.3% (-8.8% y/y), pulled down by a 1.9% drop (-30.0% y/y) in petroleum shipments with lower prices. Basic chemicals shipments declined 0.3% (-3.2% y/y) and food product shipments were off 0.3% (-0.4% y/y), down for the third month in the last four. Countering these declines was a 0.9% rise (13.9% y/y) in apparel shipments.
Shipments overall gained 0.5% (-2.8% y/y) as durable goods shipments rose 1.2% (3.8% y/y). Computer & electronics shipments improved 1.7% (0.9% y/y) and automobile shipments increased 14.1% (16.7% y/y). Machinery shipments declined 1.7% (-4.3% y/y).
Unfilled orders gained 0.1% (8.1% y/y) due to a 0.9% increase (7.5% y/y) in computers and a 0.5% rise (10.7% y/y) in electrical equipment & appliances. Transportation backlogs rose 0.3% 10.5% y/y) and furniture backlogs gained 0.3% (12.9% y/y)
Manufacturers inventories fell 0.2% (+0.9% y/y). Computers inventories rose 0.8% (4.7% y/y) and machinery inventories gained 0.3% (2.8% y/y). Primary metals products inventories declined 2.1% (+4.9% y/y).
The factory sector figures are available in Haver's USECON database. The expectations figure from the Action Economics Forecast Survey is available in AS1REPNA.
| Factory Sector- NAICS Classification (%) | Mar | Feb | Jan | Y/Y | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orders | 2.1 | -0.1 | -0.7 | -4.0 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 2.9 |
| Shipments | 0.5 | 0.4 | -2.3 | -2.8 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 4.0 |
| Inventories | -0.2 | 0.0 | -0.4 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.4 |
| Unfilled Orders | 0.1 | -0.5 | -0.3 | 8.1 | 9.9 | 7.0 | 3.7 |
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.
