2 November 2001, 18:14 US Factory Orders-OVERVIEW
By Sandi Alexander
Washington, Nov. 2 (FWN) - U.S. factory orders plunged 5.8%
in September, closely matching economists' expectations for a 5.0%
decline, and following a 0.1% decline from Augusts unchanged.
Excluding transportation, factory orders fell 4.0% in September,
while factory inventories fell 0.9%.
* * *
Septembers non-durable goods shipments, a proxy for non-durable
goods orders, were down 2.6% after a revised 0.6 rise the month
before, the Commerce Department said.
September's orders for durable goods were remained down 8.5%,
the same as reported in the Oct. 25 preliminary report on durable
goods (see story 4726).
WHAT WAS EXPECTED:
In a Futures World News survey, private analysts forecast September
factory orders would be reported in a range of down 6.7% to down 0.4%.
FACTORY INVENTORIES, SHIPMENTS:
--The September fall of 0.9% in manufacturers' inventories followed
a 0.7% decline in August.
--Factory shipments fell in September, dropping 4.2% , following a
revised 0.3% decrease in August.
--The inventory-to-shipments ratio rose to 1.43 in September,
compared with August's revised 1.38.
--Unfilled orders also fell down 1.8% in September, compared with a
revised 0.9% decrease the prior month.
CAPITAL GOODS SHIPMENTS:
Shipments of non-defense capital goods, excluding aircraft fell 4.0%
in September after being reported 2.3% in August. These shipments are a
important indicator of trends in capital spending and the contribution
of producers' durable equipment purchases to GDP growth.
© 1999-2024 Forex EuroClub
All rights reserved