US-manufactured commodities sales drop at the highest rate in six months

By Sophie Chapman
Share
January noted the biggest decline in six months for orders for products produced in the US. US-manufactured commodity sales dropped by 1.4% in the firs...

January noted the biggest decline in six months for orders for products produced in the US.

US-manufactured commodity sales dropped by 1.4% in the first month of the year, after five consecutive months of growth.

In the final month of last year, factory order grew by 1.8%. This was followed by the biggest decrease since July 2017.

However, this drop had been anticipated with economists forecasting a similar decline, Reuters reported.

The orders made for non-defense capital goods – excluding aircrafts – fell an additional 0.1% to what was expected, at 0.3%.

The goods, which are considered core capital goods, also fell in December, plummeting by 0.5%.

SEE ALSO:

The two months recorded the first back-to-back decrease since May 2016

Core capital goods shipments were also noted to have dropped by 0.1% in January, despite predictions that the sector would grow by the same amount in the month.

The unanticipated decline followed the success of December, as the sector rose by 0.7%.

Transportation equipment orders reduced by a staggering 10% in the first month of 2018, linked to a 28.4% drop in civilian aircraft orders.

The review period also saw a 0.4% fall in machinery orders – reaching the fastest decline since October 2016.

Mining, oil field, and gas field machinery order were reported as dropping by as much as 8.9% in January.

Share

Featured Articles

Tata & JLR: Supercharging Next Gen Automotive Connectivity

With the Tata Communications MOVE platform, JLR is ensuring electric fleet connectivity, driving the future of software-defined automotive manufacturing

FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies Expands in Denmark

The life science company FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies is investing in its Hillerød site to drive the development & advancement of Danish life science

Reviewing Trump's First Term to Prepare for the Second

With Donald Trump returning to the White House, we reflect on the impact of the manufacturing policies, rules and tariffs imposed during his first term

Amazon Delivers One Billion Packages via Electric Vehicle

Sustainability & ESG

Rolls-Royce Invests Millions to Expand Goodwood Facility

Production & Operations

Manufacturing Unwrapped: Manufacturing Leader Jeff Winter

Digital Factory