While the Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing a notable decline in new orders for U.S. manufactured goods in the month of June, the decrease was not quite as steep as expected.
The Commerce Department said factory orders tumbled by 1.5 percent in June after slumping by 1.2 percent in May.
Economists had expected orders to plunge by 1.8 percent compared to the 1.0 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.
The continued decrease in factory orders was primarily due to another steep drop in durable goods orders, which plunged by 3.9 percent in June after diving by 2.9 percent in May.
Orders for transportation equipment showed a substantial 10.5 percent decrease in June following a 7.1 percent drop in the previous month.
Excluding transportation orders, the report said factory orders rose by 0.4 percent in June after edging up by 0.2 percent in May.
The increase in ex-transportation orders was partly due to continued growth in orders for non-durable goods, which jumped by 1.0 percent in June after climbing by 0.6 percent in May.
The report also said shipments of manufactured goods increased by 0.7 percent in June after inching up by 0.1 percent in May, while inventories of manufactured goods once again edged down by 0.1 percent
The Commerce Department said the inventories-to-shipments ratio subsequently dipped to 1.35 in June from 1.36 in the previous month.
by RTT Staff Writer
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