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Factory orders swell
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June 4, 1998: 10:51 a.m. ET
New orders for manufactured goods rose 1.2% in April, shy of forecasts
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - New orders for goods manufactured in the United States rose for the third time in four months in April, the Department of Commerce reported Thursday.
Total U.S. factory orders increased $4 billion, or 1.2 percent, to $340.1 billion, falling shy of economists' forecasts for a 1.5 percent rise, but well above the March gain of 0.2 percent. Excluding the volatile transportation sector, new orders climbed 0.3 percent.
When the news broke, bond buyers already were distracted by earlier losses in response to a surprise interest rate hike by the Bank of England. Prices on the 30-year benchmark Treasury bond slid half a point, pushing the yield up to 5.81.
Inventories grew $2.4 billion to $461.5 billion, a 0.5 percent rise, following March's 0.2 percent increase. Shipments eased 0.8 percent to $337.8 billion, the first decrease since January, following a 0.8 percent increase in March. Shipments are up 4.4 percent over the same period a year ago.
The ratio of inventories to shipments was 1.37 in April, up from 1.35 in March.
Stocks of unsold durable goods swelled for the sixth time in the last seven months, rising $2.5 billion to $290.4 billion, a 0.5 percent increase. Nondurable stocks rose 0.2 percent, to $171.1 billion, with the largest gain in chemical and related product inventories, which increased 0.6 percent to $45.9 billion.
Unfilled orders, up for the first month since January, increased $2.3 billion, or 0.4 percent, to $540.8 billion on the heels of a 0.8 percent March decrease. The unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio was 2.81, up from 2.77 in March.
New orders for manufactured durable goods in April increased $4.1 billion, or 2.2 percent, to $190.4 billion, revised from the previously published 2.6 percent increase. This follows a 0.3 percent March increase and is the third increase in the last four months.
New orders for nondurables decreased $0.1 billion or 0.1 percent, to $149.7 billion. The decreases, led by chemicals and allied products, offset strong increases by textile mill products. 
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