Oct. Factory Orders Fall 0.9%; Ex-Transportation Unch

WASHINGTON — The value of new factory orders fell 0.9% in October, a slightly smaller drop that the 1.0% decline expected in an MNI survey due to an upward revision to durable goods orders, data released by the Commerce Department Thursday morning showed.

Total factory orders excluding transportation were flat in October, as a 0.2% decline in nondurables orders was offset by a 0.4% rise in non-transportation durables orders. The non-transportation durable rise was an improvement from the 0.1% drop reported in the advance estimate.

The nondurable orders decline was led by a 1.4% drop in petroleum and coal products shipments. Nondurables shipments are equivalent to orders in this report.

Total durable goods orders are now reported to have decreased 1.6% in October, revised upward from the 2.0% decline in the advance estimate.

In addition to the upward revision to durables orders excluding the transportation component, transportation orders themselves were revised up slightly to a still large 5.7% drop in October from the 5.9% decline reported in advance estimate. Motor vehicles orders are now reported up 0.4%, while nondefense aircraft orders are reported down 15.9% and defense aircraft orders fell 19.1%.

Overall factory shipments rose 0.1% in the month, while nondefense capital goods shipments were also up 0.1%, but were down 0.1% excluding the civilian aircraft component.

Factory inventories rose 0.1% in October, keeping the inventory-to-shipments ratio at 1.29. Unfilled orders posted a 0.4% increase. Both inventories and unfilled orders have risen in almost every month of 2013, putting both series at their highest levels under NAICS.

Market News International is a real-time global news service for fixed-income and foreign exchange market professionals. See www.marketnews.com.

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