Updated: 05-Oct-17 12:14 ET

August Factory Orders

Updated: 05-Oct-17 12:14 ET

Highlights

• Factory orders increased 1.2% in August (Briefing.com consensus 1.0%) on the heels of an unrevised 3.3% decrease in July.
• Excluding transportation, orders increased 0.4% following a 0.5% increase in July.T

Key Factors

• Nondefense capital goods orders excluding aircraft -- a proxy for business spending -- increased 1.1%, up from the 0.9% increase recorded in the advanced durable goods orders report. The August increase came on top of an upwardly revised 1.3% increase (from 1.1%) for July.
• Shipments of nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft -- the component that factors into GDP forecasts -- rose 1.1% compared to a 0.7% increase in the advanced durable goods orders report.
• New orders for manufactured durable goods increased 2.0% in August after decreasing 6.8% in July.
• New orders for manufactured nondurable goods rose 0.4% in August following a 0.3% increase in July.
• Total shipments increased 0.5% following a 0.2% increase in July
• The inventory-to-shipments ratio held steady at 1.38 for the third consecutive month

Big Picture

• The key takeaway from the report is that it will bolster Q3 GDP expectations given the upward revision from the advanced durable goods orders report for shipments of nondefense capital goods orders excluding aircraft.

Category	AUG	JUL	JUN	MAY	APR
Factory Orders	1.2%	-3.3%	3.2%	-0.3%	-0.3%
Less Defense	1.4%	-3.7%	3.1%	-0.1%	-0.3%
Durable Goods	2.0%	-6.8%	6.4%	0.0%	-0.8%
Nondurable Goods	0.4%	0.4%	0.2%	-0.6%	0.2%
Unfilled Factory Orders	0.0%	-0.3%	1.3%	-0.1%	0.2%
Factory Shipments	0.5%	0.2%	0.1%	0.3%	0.0%
Factory Inventories	0.4%	0.4%	0.3%	-0.2%	0.0%
Inventory/Shipment Ratio	1.38	1.38	1.38	1.37	1.38