Durable Goods Orders Rise in May

-- Foodservice Equipment & Supplies, 7/9/2008 11:22:00 AM

New orders for manufactured durable goods posted a slight increase in May to approximately $213.6 billion, according to the Department of Commerce. Though that figure represents less than a 0.1-percent increase, it also breaks a string of three consecutive monthly declines for new orders.

Despite the increase in orders, shipments of manufactured durable goods declined in May, dropping 1.1 percent to $211.3 billion.

New orders for primary metals declined in May, falling by 1.3 percent to $22.2 billion, while May’s shipment value of primary metals increased by 1.1 percent, also totaling $22.2 billion.

Fabricated metal products posted an increase in new orders of 0.1 percent to $27.7 billion. Shipments of these products, meanwhile, fell by 0.1 percent to $27.8 billion.

Click here to access the May 2008 report.