U.S. Factory Orders Rise in February for the Second Consecutive Month
Summary
- Manufacturers’ new orders +0.6% (+2.5% y/y) in Feb.; +1.8% (+3.3% y/y) in Jan.
- Durable goods orders (+1.0%), nondurable goods orders (+0.3%), and shipments (+0.7%) all increase m/m.
- Unfilled orders up 0.1%, the seventh m/m rise in eight months.
- Inventories up 0.1%, the fourth straight m/m increase.
Total factory orders rose a slightly more-than-expected 0.6% m/m (2.5% y/y) in February after a 1.8% gain in January and a 0.6% decline in December, data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed. A 0.5% m/m February increase had been expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The February reading was the second successive monthly rise after m/m decreases in four of the prior five months. Notably, orders for nondefense aircraft & parts fell 5.0% in February following a 92.9% surge in January. Factory orders excluding defense rose 0.5% (2.0% y/y) after a 1.9% January rebound. Factory orders excluding the transportation sector grew 0.4% (1.8% y/y), the sixth consecutive m/m gain, on top of a 0.3% January increase.
Durable goods orders rose 1.0% (3.4% y/y) in February after a 3.4% rebound in January (in line with a 0.9% m/m rise in the advance report on March 26). The February rise reflected m/m orders increases of 1.9% (5.1% y/y) in electrical equipment, appliances & components, 1.5% (6.2% y/y) in transportation equipment, 1.2% (4.2% y/y) in primary metals, 0.9% (1.8% y/y) in fabricated metal products, 0.6% (0.4% y/y) in machinery, and 0.4% (-0.3% y/y) in furniture & related products. Meanwhile, durable goods orders for computers & electronic products were virtually unchanged m/m (4.6% y/y) in February following a 1.8% gain in January.
Nondurable goods orders, which equal nondurable goods shipments, rose 0.3% (1.6% y/y) in February, the fifth straight m/m rise, after a 0.3% increase in January. The February rise reflected m/m gains of 2.1% (1.0% y/y) in textile mills, 1.9% (1.2% y/y) in leather & allied products, 1.5% (-1.0% y/y) in textile products, 1.4% (-1.8% y/y) in apparel, 0.8% (6.0% y/y) in chemical products, 0.5% (0.1% y/y) in plastics & rubber products, 0.4% (-5.3% y/y) in petroleum & coal products, and 0.3% (4.0% y/y) in printing. To the downside, the following nondurable goods shipments fell m/m in February: beverage & tobacco products (-0.6%; +6.7% y/y), paper products (-0.3%; +1.9% y/y), and food products (-0.2%; +2.1% y/y).
Total shipments rose 0.7% (2.6% y/y) in February, the fourth successive m/m rise, after a 0.5% gain in January. Excluding transportation, shipments grew 0.4% (1.6% y/y), up for the sixth consecutive month, on top of a 0.3% January increase. Shipments of durable goods industries advanced 1.2% (3.6% y/y) in February, the third straight m/m gain, after a 0.7% rise in January. This reflected m/m durable goods shipments rises of 2.1% (7.9% y/y) in transportation equipment, 1.5% (3.9% y/y) in primary metals, 1.2% (3.6% y/y) in computers & electronic products, 0.8% (3.6% y/y) in miscellaneous durable goods, 0.7% (0.1% y/y) in machinery, 0.6% (3.2% y/y) in electrical equipment, appliances & components, 0.6% (1.1% y/y) in fabricated metal products, and 0.5% (-1.3% y/y) in nonmetallic mineral products. In contrast, these durable goods shipments fell m/m in February: furniture & related products (-0.5%; -0.6% y/y) and wood products (-0.5%; -1.6% y/y).
Unfilled orders increased 0.1% (0.7% y/y) in February, up for the seventh month in eight, after a 0.2% increase in January. Excluding transportation, unfilled orders edged up 0.1% (0.7% y/y) in February for the third successive month. Backlogs of durable goods increased 0.1% (0.7% y/y) in February, reflecting m/m rises of 0.7% (2.3% y/y) in electrical equipment, appliances & components and 0.2% (0.6% y/y) in transportation equipment.
Inventories inched up 0.1% (0.9% y/y) in February, the fourth consecutive m/m increase, after rising at the same pace in January. Excluding transportation, inventories were up 0.1% (0.4% y/y) in February, the fourth straight m/m rise. Durable goods inventories ticked up 0.1% (0.9% y/y) in February after holding steady in January; nondurable goods inventories rose 0.3% (0.8% y/y), the fourth successive m/m rise.
The factory sector data are available in Haver’s USECON database. The Action Economics Forecast Survey is in the AS1REPNA database.
Winnie Tapasanun
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Winnie Tapasanun has been working for Haver Analytics since 2013. She has 20+ years of working in the financial services industry. As Vice President and Economic Analyst at Globicus International, Inc., a New York-based company specializing in macroeconomics and financial markets, Winnie oversaw the company’s business operations, managed financial and economic data, and wrote daily reports on macroeconomics and financial markets. Prior to working at Globicus, she was Investment Promotion Officer at the New York Office of the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) where she wrote monthly reports on the U.S. economic outlook, wrote reports on the outlook of key U.S. industries, and assisted investors on doing business and investment in Thailand. Prior to joining the BOI, she was Adjunct Professor teaching International Political Economy/International Relations at the City College of New York. Prior to her teaching experience at the CCNY, Winnie successfully completed internships at the United Nations. Winnie holds an MA Degree from Long Island University, New York. She also did graduate studies at Columbia University in the City of New York and doctoral requirements at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Her areas of specialization are international political economy, macroeconomics, financial markets, political economy, international relations, and business development/business strategy. Her regional specialization includes, but not limited to, Southeast Asia and East Asia. Winnie is bilingual in English and Thai with competency in French. She loves to travel (~30 countries) to better understand each country’s unique economy, fascinating culture and people as well as the global economy as a whole.
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