U.S. Factory Orders Unexpectedly Dip 0.2% In January

(RTTNews) - New orders for U.S. manufactured goods unexpectedly saw a modest decrease in the month of January, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday.

The report said factory orders edged down by 0.2 percent in January after tumbling by 3.5 percent in December. The modest drop surprised economists, who had expected orders to inch up by 0.2 percent.

A continued decrease in orders for non-durable goods contributed to the unexpected drop in factory orders, with non-durable goods orders slumping by 3.1 percent in January after falling by 3.3 percent in December.

The drop in non-durable goods orders offset a rebound in durable goods orders, which jumped by 2.8 percent in January following a 3.7 percent drop in the previous month.

Excluding the volatile transportation sector, the Commerce Department said factory orders fell by 1.8 percent in January compared to a 2.3 percent decrease in December.

The report also showed that shipments of manufactured goods tumbled by 2.0 percent in January after falling by 0.9 percent in December.

Inventories of manufactured goods fell for the second consecutive month, dipping by 0.4 percent in January after a matching drop in the previous month.

With shipments falling at a faster pace than inventories, the inventories-to-shipments ratio rose to 1.36 in January from 1.34 in December.