(05-25-18)
The U.S. Census Bureau announces the April advance report on manufacturers’ shipments, inventories and orders: New Orders: New orders for manufactured durable goods in April decreased $4.2 billion or 1.7 percent to $248.5 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This decrease, down following two consecutive monthly increases, followed a 2.7 percent March increase. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.9 percent. Excluding defense, new orders decreased 1.9 percent.
Transportation equipment, also down following two consecutive monthly increases, drove the decrease, $5.6 billion or 6.1 percent to $87.1 billion. Shipments: Shipments of manufactured durable goods in April, down following eight consecutive monthly increases, decreased $0.1 billion or 0.1 percent to $246.7 billion. This followed a 0.7 percent March increase. Transportation equipment, down following three consecutive monthly increases, drove the decrease, $1.8 billion or 2.1 percent to $82.8 billion. Unfilled Orders: Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in April, up five of the last six months, increased $5.5 billion or 0.5 percent to $1,153.4 billion. This followed a 0.8 percent March increase. Transportation equipment, also up five of the last six months, led the increase, $4.2 billion or 0.5 percent to $796.2 billion. Inventories: Inventories of manufactured durable goods in April, up seventeen of the last eighteen months, increased $1.2 billion or 0.3 percent to $401.7 billion. This followed a 0.2 percent March increase. Fabricated metal products, up fifteen of the last sixteen months, led the increase $0.4 billion or 0.8 percent to $52.0 billion. Capital Goods: Nondefense new orders for capital goods in April decreased $5.7 billion or 6.8 percent to $78.6 billion. Shipments decreased $3.6 billion or 4.6 percent to $74.1 billion. Unfilled orders increased $4.5 billion or 0.6 percent to $713.9 billion. Inventories increased $0.8 billion or 0.5 percent to $176.1 billion. Defense new orders for capital goods in April increased $0.3 billion or 3.1 percent to $11.0 billion. Shipments increased $1.4 billion or 12.9 percent to $12.0 billion. Unfilled orders decreased $1.1 billion or 0.7 percent to $144.7 billion. Inventories decreased $0.3 billion or 1.4 percent to $22.2 billion. Revised and Recently Benchmarked March Data: Revised seasonally adjusted March figures for all manufacturing industries were: new orders, $498.4 billion (revised from $498.3 billion); shipments, $492.6 billion (revised from $492.2 billion); unfilled orders, $1,147.8 billion (revised from $1,148.2 billion) and total inventories, $664.8 billion (revised from $664.3 billion).