Factory Orders Rise 1.8% In December, Below Estimates
Factory orders rose 1.8 percent in December, below estimates of a 2.3 percent advance.
November factory orders growth was revised down to -0.3 percent from the 0 percent figure reported last month.
Below is a breakdown of the sub-components of the report:
New orders for manufactured goods in December, up three of the last four months, increased $8.6 billion or 1.8 percent to $484.8 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. This followed a 0.3 percent November decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.2 percent.
Shipments, up five of the last six months, increased $1.8 billion or 0.4 percent to $484.9 billion. This followed a 0.3 percent November increase. Unfilled orders, up six of the last seven months, increased $7.9 billion or 0.8 percent to $991.7 billion. This followed a slight November increase. The unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio was 6.12, down from 6.13 in November.
Inventories, up following two consecutive monthly decreases, increased $0.5 billion or 0.1 percent to $615.5 billion. This followed a slight November decrease. The inventories-to-shipments ratio was 1.27, unchanged from November.