U.S. Factory Orders Rise for Fourth Straight Month, Up 5/6 Months

U.S. factory orders for manufactured goods in November increased $6.5 billion or 1.3% to $488.1 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. The manufacturers’ shipments, inventories and orders report has shown factory orders in the U.S. have now risen for the fourth straight month and have been up in five of the last six months.

This latest report followed a 0.4% gain in October.

Shipments, which have been up eleven of the last twelve months, increased $5.7 billion or 1.2% to $491.2 billion following a 0.8% increase in October.

Unfilled orders, up for three consecutive months, gained $1.2 billion or 0.1% to $1,137.1 billion following a 0.1% increase in October. The unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio was 6.60, down from 6.68 in October.

Inventories, up twelve of the last thirteen months, increased $2.5 billion or 0.4% to $665.1 billion following a 0.3% rise in October. The inventories-to-shipments ratio was 1.35, down from 1.36 in October.

New orders for manufactured durable goods have been up three of the last four months, and in November they increased $3.0 billion or 1.3% to $241.4 billion. This strong data followed a 0.4% in October. Transportation equipment, which has also been up three of the last four months, largely fueled the increase, rising $3.2 billion or 4.1% to $80.8 billion.

New orders for manufactured nondurable goods also increased by 1.4%, in this case by $3.4 billion to $246.7 billion.