Manufacturing Orders Post a Solid Gain as Shipments Stay Strong
New orders for manufactured goods increased 1.5% in March after ticking up 0.3% in February. Meanwhile, new orders for manufactured goods rose 3.7% over the year. When excluding transportation, new orders moved up 1.6% over the month and 3.4% year-over-year in March. Orders for durable goods advanced 0.8%, following a 1.2% decline in February. Year to date, durable goods orders jumped 6.1%. Meanwhile, nondurable goods increased 2.1% after stepping up 1.9% in February. At the same time, nondurable goods orders grew 1.2% over the year.
In March, the largest monthly increase occurred in ships and boats, which surged 30.9% after decreasing 12.8% in February. The largest decline occurred in nondefense aircraft and parts, which plummeted 21.1% after plunging 33.3% the prior month. The largest over-the-year changes occurred in ships and boats (up 38.2%) and nondefense aircraft and parts (down 12.5%).
Factory shipments rose 1.4% in March, after increasing 1.7% in February. Shipments grew 4.3% over the year. Shipments excluding transportation stepped up 1.6% in March, following a 1.7% uptick the previous month. Shipments for durable goods moved up 0.7% in March, following a 1.6% rise in February, and are up 7.4% year to date. Meanwhile, nondurable goods shipments increased 2.1%, after advancing 1.9% the prior month, and are up 1.2% year to date.
Unfilled orders for all manufacturing industries inched up 0.1% in March, after increasing by the same percentage in February. Unfilled orders over the year jumped 9.4%. Inventories rose 0.6% month-over-month and 1.3% year-over-year. The inventories-to-shipments ratio edged down from 1.52 in February to 1.51 in March. The unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio for durable goods moved down to 6.88 in March from 6.92 in February.