U.S. Factory Orders Fell Sharply in March
Orders to U.S. factories fell in March by the largest amount in seven months but a key category that signals business investment plans managed a small increase.
Orders to U.S. factories fell in March by the largest amount in seven months but a key category that signals business investment plans managed a small increase.
Orders to U.S. factories rose sharply in February from January on a surge in volatile demand for commercial aircraft, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.
U.S. factory orders increased 1.8 percent in December, but demand for core capital goods, a category considered a proxy for business investment plans, dipped 0.3 percent in December following strong gains in November and October.
U.S. factory orders likely rose 2 percent in December, and a preliminary report on durable manufactured goods suggests that business investment plans increased for the third straight month.
No one was expecting good news out of Hewlett-Packard's analyst day on Wednesday, but few imagined the leading PC maker would dramatically slash its near-term guidance. CEO Meg Whitman stunned investors, forecasting profitability to drop in the fiscal year that begins next month.
U.S. factory activity shrank for the third straight month in August as new orders, production and employment all fell. The report adds to other signs that manufacturing is struggling around the globe.
U.S. factory activity shrank for the third straight month in August as new orders, production and employment all fell. The report adds to other signs that manufacturing is struggling around the globe.
Demand for U.S. factory goods fell by 1.5% in March -- the biggest drop in three years -- driven by a sharp decline in orders for commercial aircraft. But airplane orders are a volatile statistic, and more recent data suggest the dip may be temporary. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that orders for factory goods fell 1.5%, the steepest decline since March 2009, when the economy was mired in recession. Orders rose 1.1% in February.
Orders for long-lasting factory goods fell by the largest amount in three years last month, mostly because demand for commercial aircraft plunged. But companies also ordered less machinery and other equipment, a sign manufacturing output may slow.
Orders for factory-made goods that signal business investment plans fell for a second straight month, part of a mixed report on manufacturing in November. The drop in demand for so-called core capital goods was offset by a sharp rise in volatile airplane orders. That lifted overall factory orders 1.8 percent, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
This week we turn the calendar page, and that change brings with it a raft of economic data. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver his semiannual monetary policy testimony before Congress, while Wall Street waits on more earnings reports.
A new report from the Philadelphia Fed shows America's manufacturing sector is strongly bouncing back. Not only are firms reporting booming activity, strong shipments of goods and more unfilled orders, but jobs are being created at the highest rate in 38 years.
If you glanced at just one or two headlines from last week's reports on the U.S. economy, you might have concluded that things haven't changed that much. In fact, digging deeper reveals that business conditions are improving. Even the puzzling payroll report has hopeful indicators.
Factory orders fell 0.9% in October -- a total that was offset by a substantial, upward revision in September%u2019s tally to a 3.0% gain from the initially estimated 1.8% increase. Further, excluding the transportation sector, factory orders are still rising, and the picture is one of a manufacturing sector that will continue to add to U.S. GDP growth well in to 2011.
The nation%u2019s manufacturing recovery accelerated in October as factory output jumped 0.5%, the Federal Reserve said. Overall industrial output was flat in the month, but the typical autumn plunge in utilities output skewed the top-line stat lower.
Investors got more evidence today that the manufacturing sector expansion continued into late summer/early fall. The key ex-transportation component also came in higher, at 0.4%. And the ex-defense number rose 1.9%. A solid month overall.
While overall factory orders fell 0.5% in August, if we factor out the volatile transportation component, orders actually rose 0.9% in August -- a statistic that confirms that the expansion in the nation%u2019s manufacturing sector continued this summer, but at a slower pace.
August's 1.3% drop in durable goods orders looks bad. But the real story is that the more-telling component that excludes volatile transportation orders rose 2%, doubling a Bloomberg survey's consensus estimate. So far, Wall Street is reacting ecstatically.
Factory orders rose just 0.1% in July, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Thursday in a report that further clarified that the manufacturing sector's expansion slowed down this summer. While the statistic did indicate tepid growth, it was less than the 0.3% gain economists had predicted.
Investors nervous about a stalled economic recovery -- or possibly the second dip of a double-dip recession -- will watch for this week's economic data, including construction and consumer spending, factory orders and August jobless figures.
The less-than-expected durable good orders gain in July is more evidence that economic growth slowed in summer. This will likely increase pressure on the Fed for action to jump-start a U.S. economy that's operating well below potential.
Orders fell 1.2% in June, well below a survey estimate of a 0.5% drop, marking two down months in a row. Even excluding the often-volatile transportation component (airplanes and cars), orders fell 1.1% in June.
An unexpectedly high 1.4% decline in May factory orders capped a difficult week for the U.S. economy. Many analysts are worried that recent data for job creation, jobless claims and home sales all indicate that domestic growth is slowing.
According to the Institute for Supply Management, service sector businesses grew for the fifth straight month in May, and added more jobs than they shed for the first time since early 2008. Meanwhile, manufacturing's upswing continues.
More evidence that the U.S. manufacturing sector continues to mend, as factory orders unexpectedly rose 1.3% in March, the U.S. Commerce Department said. Equally significant, the nontransportation component surged 3.1%, which suggests the nation%u2019s core industrial segment continues to strengthen.
Factory orders in February continued their upward trend, in part driven by shipments of chemical products, according to the U.S. Commerce Department survey released Wednesday. New orders rose 0.6% to $383.5 billion, marking that statistic's eleventh consecutive month of gains.
More evidence that the U.S. manufacturing sector continues to heal, as factory orders rose a better-than-expected 1.0% in December.
The Commerce Department's November report shows that the U.S. manufacturing sector continues to mend. Equally encouraging: Inventories rose for the second straight month, as suppliers became more confident about holding goods.


























