HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PRELIMINARY REPORT ON MANUFACTURERS' SHIPMENTS, INVENTORIES, AND ORDERS

June 2009 --------------- Released 10:00 A.M. EDT August 5, 2009
(M3-2(09)-06)
Note: All figures in text are in seasonally adjusted current dollars
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Summary

New orders for manufactured goods in June, up four of the last five months, increased $1.4 billion or 0.4 percent to $349.0 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. This followed a 1.1 percent May increase. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 2.3 percent. Shipments, up following ten consecutive monthly decreases, increased $4.9 billion or 1.4 percent to $358.3 billion. This followed a 0.8 percent May decrease. Unfilled orders, down nine consecutive months, decreased $6.5 billion or 0.9 percent to $740.2 billion. This was the longest streak of consecutive monthly decreases since November 2001-July 2002. This followed a 0.3 percent May decrease. The unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio was 6.04, down from 6.15 in May. Inventories, down ten consecutive months, decreased $4.2 billion or 0.8 percent to $508.3 billion. This was the longest streak of consecutive monthly decreases since March 2003-January 2004 and followed a 0.8 percent May decrease. The inventories-to-shipments ratio was 1.42, down from 1.45 in May.

New Orders

New orders for manufactured durable goods in June, down following two consecutive monthly increases, decreased $3.6 billion or 2.2 percent to $159.1 billion, revised from the previously published 2.5 percent decrease. This followed a 1.3 percent May increase.

New orders for manufactured nondurable goods increased $5.0 billion or 2.7 percent to $190.0 billion.

Shipments

Shipments of manufactured durable goods in June, down eleven consecutive months, decreased $0.1 billion or 0.1 percent to $168.3 billion, revised from the previously published 0.2 percent decrease. This also was the longest streak of consecutive monthly decreases since the series was first published on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 2.7 percent May decrease.

Shipments of manufactured nondurable goods, up two consecutive months, increased $5.0 billion or 2.7 percent to $190.0 billion. This followed a 0.9 percent May increase. This increase was led by petroleum and coal products, which increased $4.3 billion or 13.2 percent to $37.1 billion. This was the largest increase in petroleum and coal products since November 2007.

Unfilled Orders

Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in June, down nine consecutive months, decreased $6.5 billion or 0.9 percent to $740.2 billion, unchanged from the previously published decrease. This followed a 0.3 percent May decrease.

Inventories

Inventories of manufactured durable goods in June, down six consecutive months, decreased $3.8 billion or 1.2 percent to $317.8 billion, revised from the previously published 0.9 percent decrease. This followed a 1.2 percent May decrease.

Inventories of manufactured nondurable goods, down ten consecutive months, decreased $0.4 billion or 0.2 percent to $190.6 billion. This followed a 0.1 percent May decrease. Chemical products drove the decrease, down $0.7 billion or 1.2 percent to $63.1 billion.

By stage of fabrication, June materials and supplies decreased 1.3 percent in durable goods and increased 0.4 percent in nondurable goods. Work in process decreased 0.6 percent in durable goods and 0.8 percent in nondurable goods. Finished goods decreased 1.9 percent in durable goods and 0.4 percent in nondurable goods.

Released August 5, 2009. Note: All figures in text are in seasonally adjusted current dollars. The advance report on durable goods for July is scheduled for August 26, 2009 at 8:30 a.m. and the full report on September 2, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.

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