Updated: 04-Feb-25 10:27 ET
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Updated: 04-Feb-25 10:27 ET |
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Highlights
- Factory orders decreased 0.9% month-over-month in December (Briefing.com consensus -0.3%) following a downwardly revised 0.8% decline (from -0.4%) in November.
- Excluding transportation, factory orders rose 0.3% on the heels of a 0.2% increase in November.
- Shipments of manufactured goods jumped 0.6% in December following a 0.1% increase in November.
Key Factors
- Durable goods orders fell 2.2% following a 2.0% decline in November.
- New orders for nondurable goods rose 0.3% following a 0.4% increase in November.
- New orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft-a proxy for business spending- rose 0.4% following a 0.8% increase in November.
- The inventory-to-shipments ratio dipped to 1.46 from 1.47 in November.
Big Picture
- The key takeaway from the report is that the weakness in factory orders was concentrated in the durable goods space, and primarily in nondefense aircraft and parts; but business spending was up, evidenced by the growth in new orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft.
Category |
DEC |
NOV |
OCT |
SEP |
AUG |
Factory Orders |
-0.9% |
-0.8% |
0.5% |
-0.2% |
-0.8% |
Less Defense |
-0.9% |
-0.4% |
0.5% |
-0.5% |
-1.0% |
Durable Goods |
-2.2% |
-2.0% |
0.7% |
-0.4% |
-0.9% |
Nondurable Goods |
0.3% |
0.4% |
0.2% |
-0.1% |
-0.7% |
Unfilled Factory Orders |
-0.5% |
0.2% |
0.5% |
0.3% |
0.2% |
Factory Shipments |
0.6% |
0.1% |
-0.2% |
-0.4% |
-0.7% |
Factory Inventories |
0.4% |
0.4% |
-0.1% |
-0.3% |
0.1% |
Inventory/Shipment Ratio |
1.46 |
1.47 |
1.46 |
1.46 |
1.46 |