November Trade Shipments Down

New orders for manufactured goods in November, down four consecutive months, decreased $18.7 billion or 4.6 percent to $384.6 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. This followed a 6.0 percent October decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 4.2 percent.

Shipments, also down four consecutive months, decreased $22.1 billion or 5.3 percent to $393.8 billion. This was the largest percent decrease since the series was first published on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 3.6 percent October decrease.

Unfilled orders, down two consecutive months, decreased $5.3 billion or 0.6 percent to $815.4 billion. This followed a 0.9 percent October decrease. The unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio was 5.82, up from 5.69 in October.

Inventories, down three consecutive months, decreased $1.6 billion or 0.3 percent to $553.4 billion. This followed a 0.6 percent October decrease. The inventories-to-shipments ratio was 1.41, up from 1.33 in October.

New orders for manufactured durable goods in November, down four consecutive months, decreased $2.8 billion or 1.5 percent to $185.7 billion, revised from the previously published 1.0 percent decrease. This followed an 8.5 percent October decrease.

Transportation equipment, down three of the last four months, had the largest decrease, $3.6 billion or 7.6 percent to $44.1 billion. What this means for those in the landscape industry, is that this may be an ideal time to purchase utility vehicles, trucks or other equipment.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau