New orders for manufactured goods increased 1.6 percent to $463.9 billion in January, following a 2.9 percent decline in December, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This was the second increase in the last six months. Excluding transportation, new orders fell by 0.2 percent to $384.3 billion.
New orders for manufactured durable goods grew 4.7 percent to $237.1 billion in January, following a 4.6 percent decrease in December. Orders for transportation equipment led the increase, rising 11.4 percent to $79.6 billion.
Shipments of manufactured durable goods increased 2.0 percent to $241.6 billion, after a 1.8 percent decrease in December. Shipments excluding transportation fell 0.7 percent, compared to a 0.5 percent decline in the previous month. Shipments of nondurable goods fell for the seventh consecutive month, dropping 1.4 percent to $226.8 billion. Declines in shipments of petroleum and coal products drove the decrease.
Read the Census release.
