Economy

Durable Goods Exceeded Expectations in October
Written by David Schollaert
November 28, 2022
New orders for US-manufactured durable goods rose in October to a seasonally adjusted $277.4 billion. That figure has risen for seven out of the last eight months. Shipments picked up as well last month despite persistent inflation and global economic instability.
Last month’s bookings for durable goods were up roughly 1%, or $2.8 billion more month-on-month (MoM)—ahead of a consensus expected gain of 0.4%, according to the US Census Bureau. Figures are not adjusted for inflation.
Orders for big-ticket, US-made goods were helped by aircraft and autos. But excluding transportation, new orders decreased by 0.5%.
Transportation equipment, which has increased six of the last seven months, was up $2 billion, or 2.1%, to $97.8 billion, the government data showed.
Shipments of manufactured durable goods, up 16 of the last 17 months, rose 0.4% to $275.4 billion. That’s after a 0.3%-increase in September. Machinery, up 19 of the last 20 months, led the increase in that category. It was up $0.5 billion, or 1.3%, to $38.9 billion.
Click here for more detail on the October advance report from the US Census Bureau on durable goods manufacturers’ shipments, inventories, and orders. See also Figure 1 below.
Revised and Recently Benchmarked September Data
Revised seasonally adjusted September figures for all manufacturing industries were as follows: new orders, $551.0 billion (unchanged from $551.0 billion); shipments, $550.8 billion (revised from $550.3 billion); unfilled orders, $1,137.3 billion (revised from $1,137.8 billion), and total inventories, $801.2 billion (revised from $801.6 billion).
By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com

David Schollaert
Read more from David SchollaertLatest in Economy

Durable goods orders rise again in February
Transportation equipment led the increase, rising 1.5% to $98.3 billion.

Consumer confidence falls for fourth consecutive month
People remain concerned about inflation, trade policies, and tariffs.

Housing starts ticked up in February
Single-family starts last month hit a rate of 1.10 million, a month-over-month increase of 11.4%, census data shows.

Architecture billings continued to slide in February
The ABI is a leading indicator for near-term nonresidential construction activity and projects business conditions ~9-12 months down the road (the typical lead time between architecture billings and construction spending).

New York state manufacturing activity tumbles in March
After a modest recovery in February, business activity in New York state’s manufacturing sector declined sharply in March, according to the latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.