FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012 file photo, an advertisement in the classified section of the Boston Herald newspaper calls attention to possible employment opportunities in Walpole, Mass. Economists forecast that employers added 155,000 jobs in December, according to a survey by FactSet. That would be slightly higher than November's 148,000. The unemployment rate is projected to remain at 7.7 percent. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
-
FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012 file photo, an advertisement in the classified section of the Boston Herald newspaper calls attention to possible employment opportunities in Walpole, Mass. Economists forecast that employers added 155,000 jobs in December, according to a survey by FactSet. That would be slightly higher than November's 148,000. The unemployment rate is projected to remain at 7.7 percent. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
-
In this Wednesday, Dec. 12 2012 photo a job seeker leaves his contact information with a potential employer during a job fair in New York. More Americans sought unemployment benefits in the last week of 2012, though the winter holidays likely distorted the data for the second straight week. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
-
FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012 file photo, an advertisement in the classified section of the Boston Herald newspaper calls attention to possible employment opportunities in Walpole, Mass. U.S. employers added 155,000 jobs in December, a steady gain that shows hiring held up during the tense negotiations to resolve the fiscal cliff. The solid job growth wasn’t enough to push down the unemployment rate, which remained 7.8 percent last month, the Labor Department said Friday, Jan. 4, 2013. The rate for November was revised up from an initially reported 7.7 percent. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
-
Floor traders check their handheld computers at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
-
President Barack Obama walks across the tarmac to board Air Force One at Honolulu Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012, in Honolulu, en route to Washington. With a yearend deadline looming before the economy goes off the so called fiscal cliff, the president is cutting short his traditional Christmas holiday in Hawaii. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
-
FILE - In this Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, file photo, a customer makes a purchase in the Times Square Toys-R-Us store in New York. U.S. retail sales rose 0.3 percent in November from October, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That offset a 0.3 percent decline in October from September. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
-
FILE - In this Oct. 28, 2012, file photo, Jessie Rivera, 10, of New York, brings pink sandbags to the door of the shop in New York. Americans cut back sharply on spending at retail businesses in October, an indication that some may still be cautious about the economy. Superstorm Sandy may have slowed business at the end of the month. The Commerce Department said Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012, that sales dropped 0.3 percent after three months of gains. Auto sales fell 1.5 percent, the most in more than a year. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)
-
In this Friday, Oct. 26, 2012, photo, people shop at a mall in Cheektowaga, N.Y., Friday, Oct. 26, 2012. Americans cut back sharply on spending at retail businesses in October, an indication that some may still be cautious about the economy. Superstorm Sandy may have slowed business at the end of the month. The Commerce Department said Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012, that sales dropped 0.3 percent after three months of gains. Auto sales fell 1.5 percent, the most in more than a year.(AP Photo/David Duprey)
-
FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011, file photo, an Occupy Wall Street activist places tape on a boarded up house during a tour of foreclosed homes in the East New York neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough of New York. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley announced Jan. 16, 2013, they will pay a combined $557 million to settle federal complaints that they wrongfully foreclosed on homeowners who should have been allowed to stay in their homes. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
-
In this Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013, photo, specialist Edward Zelles works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Wall Street futures were mostly flat in world markets prior to the opening bell Friday Jan. 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
-
In this Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012, photo, FedEx workers sort packages at the Oakland Regional Sort Facility in Oakland, Calif. U.S factory orders increased 1.8 percent in December from November when orders had fallen 0.3 percent. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
US factory orders up 1.8 percent in December
WASHINGTON (
AP) — U.S. factory orders increased in December even though companies trimmed their orders for goods that signal investment plans.
Factory orders rose 1.8 percent in December compared to November, when orders had fallen 0.3 percent, the Commerce Department said Monday.
But demand for core capital goods, a category considered a proxy for business investment plans, dipped 0.3 percent in December following strong gains of 3.3 percent in November and 3 percent in October.
Orders for durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, rose 4.3 percent, slightly below the 4.6 percent estimated in a preliminary report. The increase reflected strong gains for military and civilian aircraft.
Orders for non-durable goods such as petroleum products, chemicals and paper, declined 0.3 percent in December after a 1 percent drop in November. The weakness reflected declines in petroleum products, a drop that was related to declines in energy prices during the month.
For the year, total factory orders rose 3 percent to $5.66 trillion. This reflected a slowing in the manufacturing sector following an 11.8 percent rise in orders in 2011. Demand for investment goods fell 0.3 percent to $759.4 billion.
For December, orders for commercial airplanes rose 10.1 percent and demand for military aircraft jumped 56.4 percent. Orders for motor vehicles and parts dropped 1.2 percent. Demand for machinery fell 1.1 percent but orders for computers and other electronic products rose 4.1 percent.
The overall economy actually contracted in the October-December quarter at an annual rate of 0.1 percent, the first negative reading since the recession was ending in the summer of 2009. The decline reflected a big drop in defense spending, slower business stockpiling and a fall in exports.
However, other parts of the economy showed strength including housing and business investment on equipment and software, which rose at an annual rate of 12.4 percent, the best showing in more than a year and a rebound from a decline in business investment in the July-September quarter.
In other signs that the economy could be strengthening, the government reported Friday that employers added 157,000 jobs in January and job growth at the end of 2012 proved stronger than initially thought.
And the Institute for Supply Management reported that manufacturing grew at a faster pace in January, driven by an increase in new orders and more hiring at factories.
The institute's manufacturing index rose to 53.1 from 50.2 in December. It was the highest reading since April.
The report was an indication that manufacturing has started to grow again after struggling through most of 2012. Uncertainty about tax increases and deep government spending cuts had led many companies to reduce orders for machinery and equipment in the summer of 2012. And a weaker global economy had dampened demand for U.S. exports.
Tags:
commerce department, goods, aircraft, supply management, the quarter at tropicana, demand, petroleum, government spending, percent, percent drop, manufacturing, parts, companies, job growth, declines, business, economy, percent rise, recession, decline, motor vehicles, business investment, macroeconomics, machinery, military aircraft, strong gains, orders, big drop, annual rate, tax increases, u.s. exports, defense spending, october-december quarter, investment plans, factory orders, preliminary report, faster pace, energy prices, petroleum products, july-september quarter, summer of love, electronic products, overall economy, new orders, u.s. factory orders, business investment plans, core capital goods, non-durable goods, civilian aircraft, durable goods, total factory orders, slower business stockpiling, weaker global economy, deep government spending, investment goods, commercial airplanes, best showing, negative reading, highest reading
Print Page
