Economy

Durable goods orders slip in October

Written by Ethan Bernard

November 22, 2023

New orders for manufactured durable goods fell in the US in October.

The US Census Bureau said on Wed., Nov. 22, that October new orders fell 5.4%, or $16.0 billion, to $279.4 billion from the previous month. This comes on the heels of a 4% September increase.

Excluding transportation, new orders were “virtually unchanged,” Census said. Transportation includes non-steel-intensive items such as aircraft. And excluding defense, new orders dropped 6.7% month over month to $261.6 billion.  

Transportation equipment, also down three of the last four months, drove the decrease, Census said.

New orders for primary metals decreased by 0.5% to a seasonally adjusted $26.46 billion in October from September’s $26.60 billion. Fabricated metal products orders inched up 0.4% month on month to $36.5 billion from $36.37 billion.

 Click here for more detail on the October advance report from the US Census Bureau on durable goods manufacturers’ shipments, inventories, and orders. See also Figure 1 below.

Ethan Bernard

Ethan Bernard is managing editor for Steel Market Update. He previously worked for American Metal Market as a copy editor in the New York office for two years, starting in 2008. Later, he copy edited AMM’s monthly magazine on a freelance basis from 2015 until 2017. With experience in financial copywriting and textbook publishing, he holds a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Berkeley, and an MFA. in Creative Writing from New York University. He can be reached at ethan@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7871.

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