Manufacturing orders, shipments, inventories rise in December
New orders for manufactured goods in December, decreased $5.2 billion or 0.9% to $578.5 billion, following declines in four of the last five months, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Orders decreased 0.8% in November.
Shipments, which were up for two consecutive months, increased $3.7 billion or 0.6% to $589.7 billion. This followed a 0.1% November increase.
Unfilled orders, decreased $6.4 billion or 0.5% to $1,396.3 billion following five consecutive monthly increases, including a 0.2% increase in November. The unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio was 6.93, down from 7.06 in November.
Inventories continued a two-consecutive-month rise, increasing $3.3 billion or 0.4% to $863.2 billion. This followed a 0.4% November increase. The inventories-to-shipments ratio was 1.46, down from 1.47 in November.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The March/April issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about Industrial Supply Co. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dr. Bharani Nagarathnam and Frank Hurtte, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
