Factory Orders

Manufacturing in the U.S. stagnated in July as orders slumped to the lowest level in almost seven years, signaling that higher raw material costs and slower spending are hurting producers. The Institute for Supply Management's factory index fell to 50, a higher reading than forecast, from 50.2 in June, the group said. A reading of 50 is the dividing line between expansion and contraction. While the index fell to a five-year low of 48.3 in February, it was still well above the 42.1 reading reached in February 2001, a month before the start of the 2001 recession.

NEW YORK -- Stocks turned positive in early Wall Street trading following a report showing factory orders in May increased higher than expected. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 49 points, or 0.4%, to 12,920 more than an hour after the opening bell. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 5.7 points, or 0.4%, to 1,371. The Nasdaq was up 16 points, or 0.5%, to 2,967. The U.S. Commerce Department said Tuesday that new orders for manufactured goods rose $3.3 billion, or 0.7%, to $469 billion in May. Economists had forecast a 0.2% increase, Thomson Reuters reported.

Companies decreased their overall orders to U.S. factories in October for the second straight month, evidence that the economy remains weak despite other signs of improvement. The Commerce Department says total factory orders fell 0.4 percent. September's modest 0.3 percent increase was also revised to show a 0.1 percent drop. Demand for so-called core capital goods, a good proxy for business investment, fell 0.8 percent. The report covers both durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, and nondurable goods, products such as paper, chemicals and clothing.

Factories got a vote of confidence in May, with customers placing more orders for U.S.-made goods after two months of declines, according to the government. But the 0.7% uptick in demand to $469 billion in new orders may not mask an overall decline in the manufacturing sector, which many analysts have pegged as a key driver for economic growth. The Commerce Department's report Tuesday showed a 1.3% increase in new demand for durable goods such as transportation and electrical equipment.

Another good sign for the economic recovery: U.S. factories are busily humming along, with manufacturing orders for commercial aircraft, machinery and autos up in December. New investment in capital goods rose 1.1% to $466.2 billion, according to the Commerce Department . Orders had jumped 2.2% in November. Transportation equipment alone was responsible for $58.3 billion worth of orders. Overall, orders spiked 12.1% in 2011 after rising 12.9% the year before. The $5.36-trillion total is just under the $5.44-trillion record set in 2008.

New orders at U.S. factories in January posted their largest drop since 2000 as aircraft orders fell, while pending sales of U.S. homes slipped as the housing market slowed, reports showed Monday. Factory orders fell 4.5% in January, slightly less than expected but still the biggest drop since July 2000, as orders for durables, machinery, computers, and aircraft declined, Commerce Department data indicated. Analysts polled by the Reuters news service were expecting factory orders to fall 5.3%.

Indicator: Orders received by U.S. factories. * What it did: Orders fell 1.7% in September, largely because of lower demand for durable goods and defense items. Orders fell a revised 2.0% in August, rather than the 1.9% previously estimated. * What it means: Analysts say it is the latest report to show a persistent sluggishness in the economy. September's decline in orders was steeper than the 1.4% drop forecast by economists, not a heartening indicator with unemployment above 6%.

Orders received by U.S. factories rose for a fourth straight month in April, aided by more demand for transportation and defense goods, the Commerce Department said. The 1% gain in April orders to a seasonally adjusted $243.9 billion followed a revised 1.9% increase in March orders and was in line with Wall Street economists' expectations of a 0.9% rise.

Orders to U.S. factories for durable manufactured goods rose 1% in April, the first increase in three months, the government reported today. The Commerce Department said orders for durable items, expected to last more than three years, totaled $100.7 billion in April, up $1 billion from March. Orders had fallen 2.7% in March and 2.8% in February. Monthly orders have shown little strength since reaching a record high of $104.5 billion in March, 1984.

There's been quite a bit of chatter this spring about a rebound in the manufacturing sector. Whether those predictions will hold up is looking less and less certain as new orders tumble. Demand for factory-made goods has fallen three of the past four months, sliding an unexpected 0.6%, or $2.9 billion, in April.  The measure had tanked 2.1% in March, marking the first back-to-back declines in more than three years. Machinery orders plunged 2.9%; requests for cars, computers and electrical equipment also fell, according to the Commerce Department . Demand for non-durable goods - items designed to last less than three years - dipped 1.1%.

Another good sign for the economic recovery: U.S. factories are busily humming along, with manufacturing orders for commercial aircraft, machinery and autos up in December. New investment in capital goods rose 1.1% to $466.2 billion, according to the Commerce Department . Orders had jumped 2.2% in November. Transportation equipment alone was responsible for $58.3 billion worth of orders. Overall, orders spiked 12.1% in 2011 after rising 12.9% the year before. The $5.36-trillion total is just under the $5.44-trillion record set in 2008.

Factory work expanded at its fastest pace in six months in December, continuing a growth trend that has lasted more than two years, according to a new report from the Institute of Supply Management . The group's manufacturing index rose to 53.9 from 52.7 in November. Any reading above 50 represents improvement in the sector. Manufacturers said production, new orders and employment were all swelling last month while inventories and prices of raw materials were down. Industries including food and beverage, computers and electronics, and paper and textiles saw action pick up. A measure of employment found an uptick in jobs for the 27th straight month, jumping to 55.1 from 51.8.

Companies decreased their overall orders to U.S. factories in October for the second straight month, evidence that the economy remains weak despite other signs of improvement. The Commerce Department says total factory orders fell 0.4 percent. September's modest 0.3 percent increase was also revised to show a 0.1 percent drop. Demand for so-called core capital goods, a good proxy for business investment, fell 0.8 percent. The report covers both durable goods, items expected to last at least three years, and nondurable goods, products such as paper, chemicals and clothing.

Xiong Mingjian is often crushed into a corner during his tedious subway commutes, but passing the time has been easy since he bought a nifty new cellphone. The 27-year-old store clerk surfs the Internet and taps away at games on his Motorola Defy, one of an increasing number of popular high-end mobile phones that are helping China shed its label as a knockoff haven. For years, copycat cellphones have thrived in a country famed for counterfeiting many things, such as Gucci handbags, Hollywood DVDs and, most recently, Apple retail stores.

Factory activity in the U.S. Midwest slowed just a bit in August and private employers continued to hire despite extreme financial market turmoil, easing fears the economy would fall back into recession. Other data on Wednesday showed a strong rebound in demand for manufactured goods in July as orders for motor vehicles posted their largest gain since 2003, another suggestion a recession could be avoided despite some weak economic signals. "For those of us who don't believe the economy is in a free fall, we have got some support," said David Resler, chief economist at Nomura Securities International in New York.

A bout of profit taking seems likely early in the new year after the Standard & Poor's 500 index ended its best December in almost two decades, but stocks may have further to run at the start of 2011. The potential is certainly there for shares to derail this week, with some important economic reports due. The U.S. unemployment report for December will be released Friday, and a repeat of last month's disappointing numbers could send stocks down. "The data has to be good for the markets to continue to go up, and if there is any weakness in the data, we think we could have a sell-off," said Zahid Siddique, a portfolio manager for Gabelli Equity Trust in Rye, N.Y. Analysts in a Reuters poll expected that the economy added 126,000 jobs in December, up from 39,000 in November but still not enough to significantly dent unemployment.

Demand for a range of long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods unexpectedly fell last month and a gauge of business spending plans also dropped, underscoring the economic recovery's tepid pace. Another report Wednesday from the Commerce Department showed new-home sales continued to bounce along the bottom, leaving intact expectations in financial markets that the Federal Reserve would ease monetary policy further next week. "You are seeing a convergence in the different sectors of the economy around the slow-growth scenario," said Zach Pandl, an economist at Nomura Securities International in New York.