Factory orders for March 2024
- Prior month 1.4% revised to 1.2%
- Factory orders for March 1.6% versus 1.6% expected
- Factory orders ex transportation 0.5% versus 1.1% preliminary and 1.1% last month
- Durable goods orders for March unrevised at 2.6% preliminary. Last month 0.7%. Best level since November 2023
- Durable goods ex transportation 0.2% versus 0.2% preliminary. Last month 0.1%.
- Nondefense capital goods Ex air 0.1% versus 0.2% preliminary. Last month 0.4%
A look at shipments shows:
Overall Shipments
- Decreased by $0.3 billion or 0.1% in March to $282.1 billion.
- Decline observed in three of the last four months. Weak...
Durable Goods
- Transportation equipment shipments decreased by $0.5 billion or 0.6% to $89.3 billion.
- This sector also saw declines in three of the last four months. Weak.
Nondurable Goods
- Increased by $1.9 billion or 0.6% to $301.2 billion.
- This rise followed a 1.7% increase in February.
- Continuous increase observed over two consecutive months. Strong
Petroleum and Coal Products
- Led the increase in nondurable goods with a $0.8 billion or 1.2% rise to $68.7 billion.
- Also up for two consecutive months.
- Shipments 0.0% vs 0.2% preliminary and -0.6% last month
Unfilled orders summary:
Overall Unfilled Orders
- Increased by $6.1 billion or 0.4% in March to $1,397.4 billion.
- This increase comes after two consecutive monthly decreases. Rebounds.
Transportation Equipment
- Drove the overall increase with a rise of $6.6 billion or 0.7% to $903.2 billion.
- This sector has seen increases in twelve of the last thirteen months.
A look at inventories:
- Total Inventories: Manufactured durable goods inventories in March decreased slightly by $0.1 billion, remaining steady at $527.8 billion after seven months of increases.
- Durable Goods: Specifically, machinery inventories led the decrease, falling by $0.1 billion or 0.1 percent to $95.0 billion, marking a third consecutive month of decline.
- Nondurable Goods: Conversely, inventories of manufactured nondurable goods rose by $0.5 billion or 0.2 percent to $329.9 billion, continuing an upward trend for the second consecutive month.
- Leading Increases: Petroleum and coal products inventories significantly contributed to the increase, rising $0.2 billion or 0.5 percent to $48.0 billion.
- Stage of Fabrication: In March, materials and supplies saw a 0.1 percent decrease in durable goods but a 0.4 percent increase in nondurable goods. Work in process inventories increased by 0.5 percent in durable goods but decreased by 0.1 percent in nondurable goods. Finished goods inventories fell by 0.6 percent in durable goods and rose by 0.1 percent in nondurable goods.
