US factory orders up slight 0.3 percent in September
Source: Associated Press via the Washington Post
US factory orders up slight 0.3 percent in September
By Martin Crutsinger | AP
November 3 at 10:23 AM
WASHINGTON — Orders to U.S. factories increased a modest amount in September even though a key category that tracks business investment plans fell by the largest amount since February.
Factory orders edged up a slight 0.3 percent in September following a 0.4 percent advance in August, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Orders in a category that serves as a proxy for business investment fell 1.3 percent, reversing a 1.2 percent increase in August. It was the biggest decline in the investment category since a 2.1 percent plunge in February.
The hope is that manufacturers, who have been battered all year by a strong dollar and global weakness, will begin to see an improvement. Analysts think that the September drop in the investment category, non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, will be temporary.
Orders for durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, fell by 0.3 percent in September, slightly worse than the 0.1 percent decline estimated last week in an advance report. Demand for non-durable goods, items such as chemicals and paper, increased 0.9 percent after a 0.5 percent rise in August. ... The weakness in durable goods reflected in part a big drop in demand for military aircraft, which fell 47.6 percent. Demand for commercial aircraft rose 12.1 percent.
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/us-factory-orders-up-slight-03-percent-in-september/2016/11/03/26ad5ef6-a1cf-11e6-8864-6f892cad0865_story.html