Factory Orders Rise Sharply for June, Shipments Strong

Factory orders, or new orders for manufactured goods, increased $3.3 billion or 0.7% to $501.7 billion in June, the U.S. Census Bureau reported. This followed a 0.4% rise in May and increases during 4 of the 5 five months.

Shipments, which have been up 13 of the last 14 months, rose by $4.9 billion or 1.0% to $501.4 billion. This followed a 0.6% increase in May. Unfilled orders increased $4.4 billion or 0.4% to $1,165.2 billion and have been up 7 of the last 8 months,. The gain in June followed a 0.5% gain in May.

The unfilled orders-to shipments ratio came in at 6.64, down from 6.67 in May. Inventories, which have been rising for 20 consecutive months, gained $0.7 billion or 0.1% to $669.3 billion following a 0.2% bump in May.

The inventories-to shipments ratio was 1.33, down from 1.35 in May. Below is a detailed review taken directly from the report.

New Orders

New orders for manufactured durable goods in June, up following two consecutive monthly decreases, increased $2.1 billion or 0.8 percent to $251.5 billion, down from the previously published 1.0 percent increase. This followed a 0.3 percent May decrease. Transportation equipment, also up following two consecutive monthly decreases, led the increase, $1.8 billion or 2.1 percent to $87.7 billion. New orders for manufactured nondurable goods increased $1.2 billion or 0.5 percent to $250.2 billion.

Shipments

Shipments of manufactured durable goods in June, up ten of the last eleven months, increased $3.7 billion or 1.5 percent to $251.1 billion, down from the previously published 1.7 percent increase. This followed a 0.2 percent May increase. Transportation equipment, up following two consecutive monthly decreases, led the increase, $3.1 billion or 3.7 percent to $85.3 billion. Shipments of manufactured nondurable goods, up twelve of the last thirteen months, increased $1.2 billion or 0.5 percent to $250.2 billion. This followed a 1.1 percent May increase. Chemical products, up three of the last four months, led the increase, $0.5 billion or 0.8 percent to $65.4 billion.

Unfilled Orders

Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in June, up seven of the last eight months, increased $4.4 billion or 0.4 percent to $1,165.2 billion, unchanged from the previously published increase. This followed a 0.5 percent May increase. Transportation equipment, also up seven of the last eight months, led the increase, $2.4 billion or 0.3 percent to $802.3 billion.

Inventories

Inventories of manufactured durable goods in June, down following seventeen consecutive monthly increases, decreased $0.5 billion or 0.1 percent to $402.9 billion, unchanged from the previously published decrease. This followed a 0.3 percent May increase. Transportation equipment, down following two consecutive monthly increases, drove the decrease, $1.9 billion or 1.4 percent to $126.9 billion. Inventories of manufactured nondurable goods, up twelve consecutive months, increased $1.1 billion or 0.4 percent to $266.3 billion. This followed a virtually unchanged May increase.

Chemical products, up eight of the last nine months, led the increase, $0.7 billion or 0.8 percent to $88.7 billion. By stage of fabrication, June materials and supplies increased 1.0 percent in durable goods and increased 0.1 percent in nondurable goods. Work in process decreased 1.4 percent in durable goods and increased 0.8 percent in nondurable goods. Finished goods increased 0.2 percent in durable goods and increased 0.5 percent in nondurable goods.