EconoIndicators

Durable Goods At a Glance

• New Orders: $176.8 billion
• New Orders Change: Down 2.6%
• Shipments Change: Down 0.7%
• Unfilled Orders Change: Down 1.3%
• Inventory Change: Up 0.4%
• Nondefense Capital Goods Change: Down 5.9%

Technorati Tags: durable goods, manufacturers, orders, inventories

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ADVANCE REPORT ON MANUFACTURERS’ SHIPMENTS, INVENTORIES, AND ORDERS

New Orders
New orders for manufactured durable goods in December decreased $4.7 billion or 2.6 percent to $176.8 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This was the fifth consecutive monthly decrease and followed a 3.7 percent November decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 3.6 percent. Excluding defense, new orders decreased 4.9 percent.
Shipments
Shipments of manufactured durable goods in December, down five consecutive months, decreased $1.4 billion or 0.7 percent to $191.3 billion. This followed a 4.2 percent November decrease.
Unfilled Orders
Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in December, down three consecutive months, decreased $10.3 billion or 1.3 percent to $803.2 billion. This followed a 0.9 percent November decrease.
Inventories
Inventories of manufactured durable goods in December, up seventeen of the last eighteen months, increased $1.3 billion or 0.4 percent to $343.5 billion. This was at the highest level since the series was first stated on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 0.3 percent November increase.
Capital Goods Industries
Nondefense
Nondefense new orders for capital goods in December decreased $3.6 billion or 5.9 percent to $57.0 billion.
Defense
Defense new orders for capital goods in December increased $2.8 billion or 32.9 percent to $11.3 billion.

Durable Goods Orders – December 2008 [PDF]

Source: Commerce Department, Census Bureau