Updated: 03-Jun-25 10:35 ET
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Updated: 03-Jun-25 10:35 ET |
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Highlights
- Factory orders declined 3.7% month-over-month in April (Briefing.com consensus -3.1%) following a downwardly revised 3.4% increase (from 4.3%) in March.
- Excluding transportation, factory orders declined 0.5% for the second straight month.
- Shipments of manufactured goods dropped 0.3% on the heels of a 0.2% decline in March.
Key Factors
- Durable goods orders were down 6.3% after increasing 7.6% in March, led by a 17.1% decline in transportation equipment orders.
- New orders for nondurable goods fell 0.9% after declining 0.7% in March.
- New orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft-a proxy for business spending- decreased 1.5% after increasing 0.3% in March.
- The inventory-to-shipments ratio increased to 1.58 from 1.57 in March.
Big Picture
- The key takeaway from the report is that April activity was devoid of strength, with declines in durable goods orders, nondurable goods orders, and business spending.
Category |
APR |
MAR |
FEB |
JAN |
DEC |
Factory Orders |
-3.7% |
3.4% |
0.5% |
0.3% |
0.4% |
Less Defense |
-4.2% |
3.9% |
0.4% |
0.7% |
0.2% |
Durable Goods |
-6.3% |
7.6% |
1.0% |
0.2% |
0.8% |
Nondurable Goods |
-0.9% |
-0.7% |
0.1% |
0.4% |
0.0% |
Unfilled Factory Orders |
0.0% |
1.6% |
0.0% |
0.0% |
0.1% |
Factory Shipments |
-0.3% |
-0.2% |
0.6% |
0.4% |
0.4% |
Factory Inventories |
-0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
0.3% |
Inventory/Shipment Ratio |
1.58 |
1.57 |
1.57 |
1.57 |
1.58 |