- Factory Orders for March rose 3.1% versus estimates of a 2.2% gain and an upwardly revised 1.4% increase in February.
BOTTOM LINE: Orders placed with US factories rose more than forecast in March, the most in a year, reinforcing signs in the past week that business investment was on the mend going into the second quarter, Bloomberg said. Excluding transportation equipment, bookings increased 1.9%. Orders for capital goods excluding aircraft and military equipment, a gauge of future business investment, surged 4.8% versus a 2.4% decline the prior month. Bookings for automobiles rose 3.8% versus a .2% increase the prior month. After a -5.7% decline in January, factory orders have now had their largest two-month turnaround since 1970. I continue to believe manufacturing will add to economic growth this quarter after substantial inventory de-stocking helped pressure overall economic growth in 1Q.
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