WASHINGTON – New factory orders for manufactured goods rose in July for the fifth consecutive month, to a record $465.4 billion, according the latest data from the Manufacturing and Construction Division of the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of the Census.
Total new manufacturers’ orders rose a seasonally adjusted $5.9 billion, or 1.3 percent, slowing from June’s upwardly-revised gain of 2.1 percent, the Census Bureau said today in its second “preliminary” report for July.
The July increase exceeded analysts’ expectations, according to Bloomberg News, whose survey of 59 economists predicted a month-over-month increase of 1 percent would follow June’s previously reported 1.7-percent gain. (Their individual predictions for July ranged from a drop of 0.1 percent to an increase of 1.7 percent.)
Trade has been “one of the few bright spots” for the U.S. economy, Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at Merk Investments LLC in Palo Alto, Calif., told Bloomberg News. But, he said, “a stronger dollar will take the bloom off the rose.”
Factory orders for durable goods such as cars and household appliances rose 1.3 percent to a July total of $219.6 billion that was unchanged from last week’s initial “advance” report for July. Excluding airplanes and other transportation equipment, durable goods orders rose 0.7 percent in July after rising 2.4 percent the month before.
Meanwhile, orders for non-durable goods such as food and energy rose 1.2 percent in July, to $245.9 billion, after rising 2.8 percent in June. The July gain “was led by food products, which increased $1.1 billion, or 2.2 percent, to $52.5 billion” – the highest level since at least 1992 – the Census Bureau said.
In a survey report yesterday, the independent Institute Supply Management said that U.S. manufacturing shrank last month for the first time since May. (READ MORE) The bureau’s initial report on August factory orders is due Sept. 25.In a survey report yesterday, the independent Institute Supply Management said that U.S. manufacturing shrank last month for the first time since May. (READ MORE)
Additional information, including July’s Preliminary Report on Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories and Orders (M3), is available from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of the Census, Manufacturing and Construction Division, at www.census.gov/m3.
