Factory Orders

Orders to U.S. factories turned in their slowest performance in three months in May as a surge in demand for commercial aircraft failed to offset weakness in autos, heavy machinery and steel. Factory orders rose 0.6% in May, less than half the gains turned in during April and March, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. It was the poorest showing since a 0.4% fall in factory orders in February.

Orders to U.S. factories unexpectedly jumped in April, led by demand for petroleum and chemicals, signaling purchases from abroad are helping sustain manufacturing. The 1.1% increase followed a 1.5% gain in March that was higher than previously estimated, the Commerce Department said Tuesday in Washington. Bookings excluding cars and airplanes climbed 2.6% for a second month. Increases in categories such as machinery and electrical equipment indicate that a weaker dollar is making American-made goods more attractive to overseas buyers, helping to keep some factories running.

Orders to U.S. factories fell more than forecast in February, as companies scaled back investment plans on concern the economy was already in a recession. The 1.3% decrease followed a 2.3% decline in January, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Excluding orders for transportation equipment, which tend to be volatile, demand fell 1.8%, the largest decline since January 2007. Meantime, bankruptcy filings by U.S.

A spreading U.S. economic slowdown seeped into factory activity in February and March as waning demand more than offset the export benefits of a cheaper dollar, a series of reports showed Monday. A Federal Reserve report on industrial output showed that factories were running at their slowest rate in more than two years during February while a key gauge of factory business in the northeastern U.S. slumped to a record low in March.

U.S. factories saw demand for their products rise in December by the largest amount in five months, a spot of welcome news that failed to change the picture of an economy struggling to stay afloat. The Commerce Department reported Monday that orders placed with U.S. factories rose by 2.3% in December. That was an improvement from the 1.7% gain posted in November and marked the biggest increase since July.

Orders to factories for big-ticket manufactured goods jumped unexpectedly in December, good news amid signs that the U.S. economy may be tipping toward a recession. Still, analysts said that the 5.2% growth in orders -- though potentially boosting industrial output in coming months -- probably came from overseas demand and that domestic growth faced continuing threats from tight credit and mortgage markets that have forced consumers to retrench.

New orders at U.S. factories surprisingly rose 0.2% in September, boosted by gains in orders for machinery, computers and nondurable goods, a Commerce Department report showed Friday. Analysts had expected orders to fall 0.5%. August orders were revised to show a 3.5% slide instead of the 3.3% drop first reported. September's 1.7% drop in durable-goods orders was unchanged after the government's initial estimate last week. Orders for nondurables, which include oil and plastic products, rose 2.

New orders at U.S. factories fell more than expected in August and jobless benefit claims climbed last week, government reports showed Thursday. Factory orders fell 3.3% in August -- the largest decline since January -- on big drops in aircraft and auto orders, a Commerce Department report showed. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected factory orders to slip 2.6%. Also, orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft -- viewed as a reliable indicator of business investment -- fell 0.

Economic data released Friday showed inflation under control in July while U.S. factories were busier than forecast, portraying a resilient economy in little need of an interest rate cut. A core inflation index from the Commerce Department rose 0.1% in July, holding the year-on-year increase in the Federal Reserve's favorite inflation gauge to 1.9% for a second month. Analysts polled by Reuters were expecting the core PCE price index, which excludes often-volatile food and fuel costs, to gain 0.