Sixth increase out of the past 7 months
By Greg Robb, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Orders for U.S. factory goods expanded in October for the sixth month out of the past seven, the Commerce Department reported Friday.
Factory orders increased 0.6% in October, better than the no-change expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch.
September's orders were revised higher by half of a percent to 1.6%.
Economists had been expecting little change in factory orders after the government reported last week that orders for durable-goods decreased 0.6% in October.
But orders for non-durable goods were much stronger than expected in October, jumping 1.6%.
Economists are generally upbeat about the factory sector as the U.S. economy recovers and the value of the dollar makes U.S. exports competitive in global markets.
Inventories rose 0.4% in October, the first gain after 13 straight monthly declines.
Inventories had been extremely lean; the increase could mean manufacturers want to re-stock shelves. The gain in inventories will boost gross domestic product in the fourth quarter.
Shipments of factory goods rose 0.8% in October, the fourth increase in the past five months.
Details
As reported a week ago, the weakness in durable goods was concentrated in the capital goods sector.
The key core capital goods component, which excludes aircraft and defense, fell 3.4% in October, down from the prior estimate of a 2.9% decline.
Orders for defense capital goods fell 16.7%.
Excluding transportation goods, factory orders rose 0.5%. Excluding defense goods, orders rose 1.1%.
Orders for machinery fell 8.5%. Orders for electronics rose 2.7%.
In the morning's key report, the government reported a decline in nonfarm payrolls of only 11,000. This was much stronger than expected. Jobless rate also fell in Oct.
