Manufacturing slipped in October, but other indicators were positive
The Department of Commerce said today that new orders for manufactured goods fell in October for the second consecutive month, decreasing $1.6 billion or 0.4% to $450 billion.
This decline follows a 0.1% fall in September. The greatest fall was in transportation – but excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.2 percent.
Last month however, the nation’s purchasing managers reported a continued rebound industrial activity and this was reflected in five consecutive months of growths in shipments.
Shipments grew in October by $2.6 billion or 0.6% to $455.4 billion on the heels of a 0.3% increase in September.
Unfilled orders, up 18 of the last 19 months, increased $1.8 billion or 0.2% to $885.9 billion. This followed a 0.6% September increase. The unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio was 6.07, down from 6.08 in September.
Inventories were up in 24 of the last 25 months and increased $5.6 billion or 0.9% to $607.1 billion. This was at the highest level since the series was first published on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 0.1% September increase.
In the bigger picture, payrolls rose 120,000 in November, led by the private sector, which gained 140,000 jobs, and unemployment rate dipped to 8.6 percent, from 9 percent in October.
Job gains over the past three months have averaged 143,000, up from only 83,000 in the previous three months.
Following strong retail sales in October, consumer confidence rose in November, with robust Black Friday numbers and the best showing for car sales since the cash-for-clunkers spike in 2009.
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