Monday Economic Report

Factory Orders: New orders for manufactured goods increased 4.8% in April after moving up 1.8% in March. Meanwhile, new orders for manufactured goods rose 6.0% over the year. When excluding transportation, new orders stepped up 1.3% over the month and 4.6% year-over-year in April. Orders for durable goods jumped 8.0%, following a 1.3% uptick in March. Year to date, durable goods orders advanced 9.3%. Meanwhile, nondurable goods orders increased 1.4% after rising 2.3% in March. At the same time, nondurable goods orders grew 2.7% over the year.

In April, the largest monthly increase occurred in nondefense aircraft and parts, which surged 165.9% after declining 23.0% in March. The largest decline occurred in electromedical, measuring and control instruments, which fell 5.1% after rising 8.9% the prior month. The largest over-the-year changes occurred in industrial machinery (up 34.9%) and photographic equipment (down 13.3%).

Factory shipments rose 1.0% in April, after increasing 1.5% in March. Shipments grew 5.2% over the year. Shipments excluding transportation stepped up 1.0% in April, following a 1.7% uptick the previous month. Shipments for durable goods moved up 0.6% in April, following a 0.8% rise in March, and are up 7.7% year to date. Meanwhile, nondurable goods shipments increased 1.4%, after advancing 2.3% the prior month, and are up 2.7% year to date.

Unfilled orders for all manufacturing industries rose 1.7% in April, after ticking up 0.2% in March. Unfilled orders over the year jumped 11.5%. Inventories increased 0.3% month-over-month and 1.7% year-over-year. The inventories-to-shipments ratio edged down from 1.51 in March to 1.50 in April. The unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio for durable goods moved up from 6.88 in March to 6.95 in April.