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Manufacturers' shipments inch up two percent in December

Unfilled orders stutter; inventories increase one percent.

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New orders for manufactured goods in December, up five of the last six months, increased $0.7 billion or 0.2 percent to $426.8 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. This followed a 1.3 percent November increase. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 1.7 percent. Shipments, up four consecutive months, increased $8.4 billion or 2.0 percent to $436.0 billion. This followed a 1.6 percent November increase.

Unfilled orders, down following eight consecutive monthly increases, decreased $3.5 billion or 0.4 percent to $822.8 billion. This followed a 0.5 percent November increase.
The unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio was 5.58, down from 5.72 in November.

Inventories, up eleven of the last twelve months, increased $5.8 billion or 1.1 percent to $550.4 billion. This followed a 0.9 percent November increase. The inventories-to-shipments ratio was 1.26, down from 1.27 in November.

New Orders

New orders for manufactured durable goods in December, down three consecutive months, decreased $4.5 billion or 2.3 percent to $191.6 billion, revised from the previously published 2.5 percent decrease. This followed a 0.1 percent November decrease. Transportation equipment, also down three consecutive months, had the largest decrease, $5.7 billion or 12.7 percent to $39.2 billion. New orders for manufactured nondurable goods increased $5.2 billion or 2.3 percent to $235.2 billion.

Shipments

Shipments of manufactured durable goods in December, up three of the last four months, increased $3.2 billion or 1.6 percent to $200.8 billion, revised from the previously published 1.4 percent increase. This followed a 0.5 percent November increase. Machinery, up four of the last five months, had the largest increase, $1.7 billion or 6.6 percent to 27.1 billion. Shipments of manufactured nondurable goods, up five consecutive months, increased $5.2 billion or 2.3 percent to $235.2 billion. This followed a 2.5 percent November increase. Petroleum and coal products, also up five consecutive months, led the increase, up $5.1 billion or 8.8 percent to $63.6 billion.

Unfilled Orders

Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in December, down following eight consecutive monthly increases, decreased $3.5 billion or 0.4 percent to $822.8 billion, unchanged from the previously published decrease. This followed a 0.5 percent November increase. Transportation equipment, down two consecutive months, had the largest decrease, $8.8 billion or 1.8 percent to $473.4 billion.

Inventories

Inventories of manufactured durable goods in December, up twelve consecutive months, increased $2.2 billion
or 0.7 percent to $322.1 billion, unchanged from the previously published increase. This followed a 0.9 percent November
increase. Transportation equipment, also up twelve consecutive months, had the largest increase, $1.5 billion or 1.7 percent
to $86.2 billion. Inventories of manufactured nondurable goods, up four consecutive months, increased $3.6 billion or 1.6
percent to $228.2 billion. This followed a 1.0 percent November increase. Petroleum and coal products, also up four
consecutive months, led the increase, up $2.4 billion or 5.0 percent to $50.4 billion. By stage of fabrication, December
materials and supplies increased 0.8 percent in durable goods and 1.7 percent in nondurable goods. Work in process
increased 1.8 percent in durable goods and 3.7 percent in nondurable goods. Finished goods decreased 0.9 percent in durable
goods and increased 0.6 percent in nondurable goods.