Factory Orders Grew 1.6% in January

Factory orders for manufactured goods grew 1.6 percent in January, following a 2.9 percent decrease in December and showing the largest increase since June. Durable goods orders rose 4.7 percent led by transportation equipment orders that were up 11.4 percent in January. Nondurable goods dropped 1.4 percent to $226.8 billion.

Factory orders came in below Bloomberg and Reuter’s expectations of 2.0 percent for January but still showed strength in January. Bloomberg is less optimistic for February and writes, “The early indications on February are broadly negative for a sector where weak exports, made weaker by the strong dollar, and a collapse in energy spending continue to take a serious toll.”