WASHINGTON (MNI) - The value of new factory orders fell by 0.2% in April, exactly as expected, as nondurable goods orders rose 0.4% to offset a downward revised 0.8% decline in durable goods orders, data released by the Commerce Department Monday morning showed.
Food products shipments rose 1.1% and petroleum and coal products shipments rose by 0.5% in April, leading the increase in nondurables orders. Nondurables shipments are equivalent to orders in this report.
Total factory orders excluding transportation rose 0.1% in April, while durable goods orders excluding transportation were down 0.5%, revised down slightly from the 0.4% decline in the advance estimate.
Transportation orders fell 1.4% in April based on Monday's data, revised down from the 1.2% decline in the advance estimate. Nondefense aircraft orders decline by 9.1% in April, but defense aircraft orders were up 7.1%. Motor vehicles orders rose 0.6% in April, while orders for ships and boats rose by 0.7%. The unpublished transportation components fell 1.5% in the month, based on an MNI calculation.
Nondefense capital goods new orders fell 1.8%, but were up 0.1% when a 15.2% drop in the civilian aircraft category is excluded.
Overall factory shipments were flat in the month due to the nondurables gain that offset a 0.4% decline for durables shipments. Nondefense capital goods shipments fell 0.4%, but were up 0.1% excluding the civilian aircraft component.
Factory inventories were up 0.1% in the month, compared with the flat reading for shipments, so the inventory-to-shipments ratio held steady at 1.38.
The Commerce Department's advance report on inventories showed both wholesale inventories and retail inventories fell by 0.3% in April. While these data are eligible for revision, the levels as they stand now, combined with Monday's factory inventory data, would result in a 0.2% decrease in April business inventories when that report is released on June 14, an MNI calculation showed. The revised wholesale data for April will be released on June 9 and could alter this projection.
