New factory orders fell by 10.1% in the United States in August, according to figures published on Thursday by the US Census Bureau, part of the Department of Commerce. This was the largest decline since 1992.
New factory orders in August declined by $56.1 billion to $502.0 billion.
The fall was mainly caused by an adjustment to July’s 10.5% increase due to several Boeing aircraft orders.
Excluding transportation orders, which also excludes aircraft, August’s decline in factory orders was just 0.1%.
US manufacturing continues to grow, but at a slower pace. According to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), manufacturing activity in September posted more moderate growth in September.
The ISM’s September PMI came in at 56.6%, a 2.4-percentage-point fall from August’s 59%. Any reading over 50 indicates expanding manufacturing activity. The Institute reported that the manufacturing sector has grown for the last 16 successive months. Fifteen of the 18 manufacturing industries that make up the Index reported growth in September.
(Data source: US Census Bureau)
Transportation equipment orders fell by 42.4% in August, which was not surprising given that July saw a sharp increase.
Inventories of manufactured durable goods increased by $1.7 billion or 0.4% in August to $403.1 billion, up sixteen of the last seventeen months.
