New orders for manufactured durable goods last month reached their highest level in more than a decade, as did unfilled orders, according to a report today from the U.S. Census Bureau.
New orders for manufactured durable goods rose in September by $16.3 billion, or 7.8 percent, to $226.7 billion, the bureau said. (All figures are given in seasonally adjusted current dollars.)
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The September level was the highest since 1992, when the series was first stated on a NAICS basis. New orders had declined in the previous two months – though in August, by only 0.1 percent.
Shipments of manufactured durable goods, which had declined in two of the past three months, did so again in September, falling $5.9 billion, or 2.8 percent, to $208.6 billion. That followed an August increase of 2.0 percent.
Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods, which have risen in 16 of the past 17 months, gained again in September, to their highest level since the series began. They rose $23.9 billion, or 3.8 percent, to $655.9 billion. This was followed an August increase of 0.4 percent.
Inventories of manufactured durable goods in September, up in eight of the last nine months, also increased. They rose $2.8 billion, or 1.0 percent, to $290.8 billion. August’s gain had been 0.6 percent.
For capital goods, non-defense new orders last month increased $15.2 billion, or 21.9 percent, to $84.5 billion. Defense new orders for capital goods rose $4.1 billion, or 41.9 percent, to $13.7 billion.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Manufacturing and Construction Division. The full report is available at www.census.gov/m3.
