New orders for U.S. manufactured goods rose sharply in March, driven by demand for commercial planes and motor vehicles, but gains in other sectors were moderate.
Industrial orders rose 1.6% after rising 1.2% in February, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The result was in line with economists’ expectations.
In March, orders increased 0.3% year-on-year. Excluding the transport sector, an increase of 0.5% was recorded in March.
The manufacturing sector, which represents 10.4% of the US economy, remains constrained by the Federal Reserve’s total interest rate increases of 525 basis points from March 2022.
A survey conducted Wednesday by the Institute of Supply Management showed its manufacturing PMI fell into contraction territory in April, after a short-lived rebound in March.
On Wednesday, Fed officials kept interest rates in the current range of 5.25% to 5.50%, the level they have been at since July.
Commercial aircraft orders rose 30.6% in March, after rising 15.6% in February. Orders for automotive bodies, components and trailers increased 1.1%. Transportation orders overall rose 7.8%, after rising 1.7% in February.
Machinery orders fell 0.1%. Orders for computers and electronic products increased by 0.7%, while orders for electrical equipment, appliances and components remained unchanged.
Source: Terra
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