New orders for goods manufactured in the U.S. decreased in November 2019 after a slight rebound in the previous month, latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed.
Factory orders fell 0.7% month over month to a seasonally adjusted $493.03 billion following a revised 0.2% increase in October 2019. The consensus estimate of economists polled by Econoday was for a 0.7% contraction in factory orders.
Durable goods orders fell 2.1% on a monthly basis to $242.25 billion in November 2019. Orders for transportation equipment led the decrease, falling 5.9% to $79.04 billion from $84.04 billion.
Orders for non-durable goods increased 0.6% to $250.78 billion from a revised figure of $249.20 billion for October 2019.
Shipments and inventories of manufactured goods both increased 0.3% month over month to $502.17 billion and $700.99 billion, respectively.
The Institute for Supply Management reported Jan. 3 that the U.S. manufacturing sector in December 2019 suffered its worst monthly contraction since the 2009 financial crisis, recording a faster pace of contraction as new orders, production and employment numbers continued to decline.