December Sees a Dip in U.S. Factory Orders

In a recent report released by the US Census Bureau, it was revealed that factory orders in the United States experienced a 0.9% decrease in December, totaling $578.5 billion. This decline highlights a potential slowdown in the manufacturing sector as the year came to a close.

Durable Goods and Unfilled Orders Also Decline

The data further showed that new orders for manufactured durable goods fell by 2.2% to $276.1 billion, while unfilled orders slightly decreased by 0.5% to $1.4 billion. These figures underscore the challenges faced by the manufacturing industry in maintaining order volumes.

Shipments and Inventories Show Slight Increases

Despite the downturn in orders, there was a silver lining as shipments increased by 0.6% to $589.7 billion, and inventories saw a modest rise of 0.4% to $863.2 billion. The inventories-to-shipments ratio in December stood at 1.46, a slight improvement from November's 1.47.