Manufactured goods orders declined 0.2% in January

New orders for manufactured durable goods fell 0.2%, or by $400 million, to $246.2 billion in January, from December, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Census Bureau announced Thursday (Feb. 27) the advance report on durable goods manufacturers’ shipments, inventories and orders for January.

The new orders have fallen in two of the past three months, and the orders rose 2.9% in December. Excluding transportation, new orders rose 0.9%. Excluding defense, new orders rose 3.6%. New orders of transportation equipment fell 2.2%, or by $1.8 billion, to $82 billion, and the orders have been down in four of the past five months.

Shipments of manufactured durable goods decreased 0.2%, or by $500 million, to $250.1 billion in January. The shipments fell 0.1% in December. Transportation equipment shipments fell 1.6%, or by $1.3 billion, to $82.1 billion in January, and the shipments have fallen for seven consecutive months.

Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods rose $100 million, or virtually unchanged, to $1.15 trillion. The unfilled orders have risen in three of the past four months and were virtually unchanged in December. Fabricated metal products rose 0.3%, or by $300 million, to $86.2 billion in January, and unfilled orders of the products have risen in the past two months.

Inventories of manufactured durable goods rose less than $100 million, or virtually unchanged, to $435.4 billion in January and have risen in 18 of the past 19 months. The inventories increased 0.4% in December. Fabricated metal products rose 0.9%, or by $500 million, to $54.1 billion in January, and inventories of the products have increased in the past three months.

Nondefense new orders for capital goods rose 12.4%, or by $8 billion, to $72.7 billion in January. Shipments fell 1.7%, or by $1.3 billion, to $73.5 billion. Unfilled orders declined 0.1%, or by $900 million, to $670.9 billion. Inventories declined 0.2%, or by $400 million, to $198.5 billion. Defense new orders for capital goods declined 39.8%, or by $7.5 billion, to $11.4 billion. Shipments rose 4.8%, or by $600 million, to $13.1 billion. Unfilled orders declined 1%, or by $1.7 billion, to $163 billion. Inventories increased 0.9%, or by $200 million, to $24.1 billion.