It followed a 2.1% decrease in January.
New orders for manufactured goods totaled $536.4 billion in February 2023, down 0.7% from January 2023, according to data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau on April 4.
The drop in factory orders, which are now down three of the past four months, follows a 2.1% decrease in January. The 0.7% decrease outpaced the 0.5% drop economists polled by Reuters had forecast for February. Despite the month-to-month decrease, factory orders increased 3% year-over-year.
The decline in factory orders was led by bookings for transportation equipment, which fell 2.8% in February after plummeting 14% in January. Orders for civilian aircraft dropped 6.6% while motor vehicle orders rose 0.8%.
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Brad Star is an Associate Editor at MDM, having joined the company in August 2022. He spent most of the previous two years as a Business Reporter for USA-Today Network-Wisconsin’s Appleton Post-Crescent, writing its Buzz column that covered local retail and consumer service businesses in the Fox Cities. Star has a degree in economics from Beloit College.
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