Updated: 04-Dec-23 10:33 ET
| October Factory Orders |
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| Updated: 04-Dec-23 10:33 ET |
Highlights
- Factory orders fell 3.6% month-over-month in October (Briefing.com consensus 2.6% after increasing a downwardly revised 2.3% (from 2.8%) in September.
- Excluding transportation, factory orders fell 1.2% after increasing a downwardly revised 0.4% (from 0.8%) in September.
- Shipments of manufactured goods were down 1.4% after a revised unchanged reading (from 0.4%) in September.
Key Factors
- Durable goods orders fell 5.4% month-over-month after jumping a revised 4.0% (from 4.6%) in September.
- New orders for nondurable goods were down 1.9% after increasing a revised 0.6% (from 1.0%) in September.
- New orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft -- a proxy for business spending -- were down 0.3% after decreasing a revised 0.2% (from +0.5%) in September.
- The inventory-to-shipments ratio rose to 1.48 from 1.46.
Big Picture
- The key takeaway from the report is that the October decrease was the largest month-over-month contraction since April 2020, when factory orders plunged 13.5% as coronavirus-related lockdowns spread. The October report also featured a downward revision to September figures, including orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, indicating that business spending in September was weaker than originally estimated.
| Category | OCT | SEP | AUG | JUL | JUN |
| Factory Orders | -3.6% | 2.3% | 1.0% | -2.1% | 2.3% |
| Less Defense | -4.2% | 2.7% | 0.8% | -2.2% | 3.0% |
| Durable Goods | -5.4% | 4.0% | -0.1% | -5.6% | 4.3% |
| Nondurable Goods | -1.9% | 0.6% | 2.2% | 1.5% | 0.4% |
| Unfilled Factory Orders | 0.3% | 1.3% | 0.3% | 0.5% | 1.8% |
| Factory Shipments | -1.4% | 0.0% | 1.3% | 0.7% | 0.2% |
| Factory Inventories | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.1% | -0.2% |
| Inventory/Shipment Ratio | 1.48 | 1.46 | 1.46 | 1.47 | 1.48 |
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