EmailEconomic
Last Update: 03-May-13 10:15 ET
Factory Orders
Highlights
- Total factory orders fell 4.0% in March after increasing a downwardly revised 1.9% (from 3.0%) in February. The Briefing.com consensus expected factory orders to fall 2.5%.
Key Factors
- Durable goods orders fell 5.8% (from a previously released -5.7%) after increasing 4.3% in March.
- As reported in the advance durable goods report, a sharp drop in aircraft orders were primarily responsible for the weakness in March. Excluding transportation, durable goods orders fell 1.5%.
- Nondurable goods orders fell 2.4%. Much of that was due to a drop in energy costs. Petroleum and coal product orders fell 7.1% after increasing 0.2% in February.
- Orders of nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft were revised up to 0.9% growth (from 0.2%) in March after falling 4.8% in February. Shipments growth, which factor into first quarter GDP estimates, were revised up to 0.5% from 0.2%.
Big Picture
- Unfilled orders remain on an upward trend. Continued growth in these orders will be necessary if manufacturers are going to keep production levels steady amid fluctuating demand.
| Category | MAR | FEB | JAN | DEC | NOV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Factory Orders | -4.0% | 1.9% | -1.0% | 1.3% | -0.3% |
| Less Defense | -3.5% | 1.5% | 1.4% | -0.2% | -0.3% |
| Durable Goods | -5.8% | 4.3% | -3.7% | 3.6% | 0.6% |
| Nondurable Goods | -2.4% | -0.1% | 1.4% | -0.6% | -1.0% |
| Unfilled Factory Orders | -0.7% | 0.7% | 0.0% | 0.7% | 0.0% |
| Factory Shipments | -1.0% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.3% |
| Factory Inventories | 0.0% | 0.2% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Inventory/Shipment Ratio | 1.29 | 1.27 | 1.28 | 1.27 | 1.27 |
