It is surprisingly hot and sticky in DC today, as summer seems to be making an early return to the nation’s capital. And while that might make many Washingtonians cringe, when it comes to the economy, these descriptors are welcome news. A key dimension of America’s economic recovery is also surprisingly hot with strength that is expected to stick – manufacturing. Ok, cheesiness aside, U.S.
March new orders for manufactured goods rose 2.5% to $208.4 billion. Shipments increased 1.8% to $207.3 billion. Unfilled orders rose 0.8% to $843.4 billion. And inventories increased 1.3% to $333.9 billion.
The U.S. Commerce Department has two releases this week that analysts will look to as they try to quantify the role of business investment in the economic recovery – the March advance durable goods release coming out this Wednesday, April 27th, and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) release for the first quarter of 2011 coming out on Thursday, April 28th.
Today, the U.S. Census Bureau released advance durable goods data for February 2011. The report contains a couple of noteworthy themes, one being that part of the manufacturing sector continues to expand (with the help of foreign demand), and another being that the pace of investment might be slowing some in the first quarter.
New orders for manufactured durable goods in February 2011 decreased 0.9% to $200.0 billion. Excluding transportation, new orders fell 0.6%. Overall shipments rose 0.3% to $203.2 billion. Capital goods shipments rose 1.3%. Unfilled orders rose 0.4%. And inventories increased 0.9% in February 2011.
