Orders for business equipment received by U.S. manufacturers in March increased only slightly, suggesting that companies are cautiously watching the future of demand and restraining capital investment.
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Orders for durable goods in general are expanding to include automobiles, computers, and electronic equipment. New orders for capital goods, including civil aircraft and defense, showed even stronger growth.
The increase in capital goods orders for the second consecutive month indicates that capital investment, which has been a drag on gross domestic product (GDP) in four of the past five quarters, has stabilized to some extent. However, companies are cautious about capital investment and are aiming to improve productivity amid high input costs.
Shipments of core capital goods, which are used to calculate GDP, increased by 0.2%. It had decreased by 0.6% in the previous month.
Orders for commercial aircraft, which tend to fluctuate from month to month, rose nearly 31% in March. The increase was approximately double that of the previous month. Boeing received orders for 113 aircraft in March, far exceeding the 15 orders received in February.
See table for detailed statistics.
Original title: US Orders for Business Equipment Tick Up After Downward Revision (excerpt)
Tags: #U.S core capital goods orders increase slightly highlighting companies cautious stance downward revision previous month Bloomberg
