| Factory Orders |
|
Released On 6/4/2012 10:00:00 AM For Apr, 2012
|
|
Prior | Prior Revised | Consensus | Consensus Range | Actual |
| Factory Orders - M/M change | -1.5 % | -2.1 % | 0.1 % | -0.4 % to 0.5 % | -0.6 % |
|
|
|
Highlights
The factory sector stumbled noticeably during April and March with April orders down 0.6 percent on top of March's downward revised 2.1 percent decline. This is the third back-to-back decline of the recovery and the steepest. The weakness is appearing in capital goods components which indicates weakness in business investment.
Orders for commercial aircraft gave April a substantial boost. If this volatile component had swung the other way, the April decline would have been severe.
Other data on the factory sector show a 0.3 percent decline for shipments which is the first decline since May last year. Unfilled orders slipped 0.1 percent for their first decline since December 2010. One plus is that manufacturers are managing their inventories well and keeping them down in line with orders with April's no change reading the lowest for inventories since May 2010.
Indications on factory activity in May are mixed to positive including a gain, though in a slowing trend, for factory employment in Friday's jobs report, a gain that suggests employers are keeping upbeat and are willing to commit resources on the prospect of future business. A big jump in ISM new orders, to the strongest monthly rate in more than a year, is another positive for May. Today's factory report is old data and is not likely to have much impact on the markets, but it does show that momentum going into May and June, not helped by problems in Europe and China, was decidedly negative.
|
|
Market Consensus before announcement
Factory orders fell 1.5 percent in March for the steepest decline in two years. Among main components, the larger of the two, orders for non-durable goods, rose 0.5 percent on strength in food products. Durables fell 4.0 percent reflecting broad weakness. More recently, durables orders made a slight 0.2 percent comeback in April, following a 3.7 percent decrease the month before.
|
Definition
Factory orders represent the dollar level of new orders for both durable and nondurable goods. This report gives more complete information than the advance durable goods report which is released one or two weeks earlier in the month.
Why Investors Care
|
| |
![[Chart]](showimage.asp?imageid=22632)
|
Even though monthly shipment data fluctuate less than new orders, both series show underlying trends more clearly by looking at year-over-year changes. In 2005 for example,new orders rose more rapidly than shipments due to large gains in aircraft orders. Aircraft orders have a long lead to shipment.
Data Source: Haver Analytics
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
| Legal Notices | ©Copyright 1998-2013 Econoday, Inc.
|
powered by
![[Econoday]](images/logo.gif)
|
