Factory Orders Down 0.8%; Ex-Transportation Up 0.1%

New orders for manufacturers fell 0.8% in June on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Excluding transportation, new orders rose 0.1%. The June orders followed a revised 0.6% increase and a 0% change in ex-transportation orders  for May.

The median estimate of economists polled by Thomson Reuters was for a 0.7% decline in total orders. 

Economists generally predicted declines based on the 2.1% drop in June durable goods orders reported on July 27.

That durables number was revised to a 1.9% decline in the Wednesday report. Durable goods excluding transportation rose 0.4% in June.

Aircraft orders were a major factor in June’s decline, with nonmilitary orders falling 28.9% and military aircraft down 20.5%. Orders for vehicles fell 2.7%

The category of nonmilitary capital goods excluding aircraft, an indication of manufacturing health, was up 0.4%.  That followed a revised 1.9% rise in May.   There was a 1.9% decline in machinery orders and a 0.8% rise in electric equipment

Orders for nondurable goods industries showed no change in June after a 0.5% decline in May.

Economists at JPMorgan said that based on earlier reports prices for petroleum products fell while other categories of nondurable goods had shown increases.

Shipments  were up 0.2%, unfilled orders rose 0.3% and inventories increased 0.2%.

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