New orders for U.S. manufactured goods rose 1.7% to $498.2 billion in December 2017 from an upwardly revised $489.7 billion in the prior month, the U.S. Census Bureau said.
The rate of monthly increase in manufactured goods recorded in November 2017 was also raised to 1.7% from a previous estimate of 1.3%.
In December 2017, new orders for manufactured durable goods climbed 2.8% to $249.3 billion, with transportation equipment leading the gain. New orders for manufactured nondurable goods went up 0.7% to $248.9 billion.
Total shipments of manufactured goods ticked up 0.6% to $495.4 billion in December 2017, while total unfilled orders rose 0.6% to $1.144 trillion, with transportation equipment also leading the increase. Total inventories went up 0.5% to $669.2 billion.
Shipments of manufactured durable goods increased 0.5% to $246.5 billion, with primary metals posting the biggest gain. Shipments of manufactured nondurable goods rose 0.7% to $248.9 billion, driven primarily by petroleum and coal products.
Inventories of manufactured durable goods rose 0.3% to $406.8 billion, with machinery leading the way. Inventories of manufactured nondurable goods climbed 0.7% to $262.4 billion, with petroleum and coal products recording the biggest gain.
New orders for manufactured goods have increased in six of the last seven months, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
