New orders for American-made goods fell considerably during June, according to figures released Aug. 4 by the U.S. Commerce Department.

A government report showed that June orders declined 4.8% month-over-month to $642.0 billion, following an 8.3% decrease in May. The increase matched forecasts from economists polled by national media outlets, and was the steepest drop since pandemic factory shutdowns in April 2020 and followed a May that posted the sharpest increase since 2014.

June U.S. manufactured goods orders: Month-Over-Month

source: tradingeconomics.com

Monthly shipments improved 0.5% during May after a 0.2% May decrease and unfilled orders increased 1.0% after a 3.4% May increase. Meanwhile, inventories increased 0.2% to $945.6 billion after a 0.1% May rise.

The May inventories-to-shipments ratio was 1.57, unchanged from May.

Durable Goods

Orders for durable goods fell 9.4% month-to-month, following a 16.5% May surge decline. Transportation drove June’s decline with a 22.4% slide, in which civilian aircraft orders dropped 51.8% after soaring 231.6% in May. 

June U.S. manufactured durable goods orders: Month-over-Month

source: tradingeconomics.com

Here’s how the value of manufacturers’ shipments changed during May for certain durable goods categories:

• Electrical equipment, appliances & components: +0.6% (-0.5% in May)
• Industrial machinery: +3.9% (-2.6% in May)
• Metalworking machinery: -2.2% (-1.1% in May)
• Mining, oilfield & gas field machinery: +1.6% (+1.0% in May)
• Construction machinery: +2.6% (-0.8% in May)
• HVACR equipment: +2.6% (-2.0% in May)
• Turbines, generators and other power transmission equipment: +0.3% (-0.9% in May)
• Material handling equipment: -4.8% (+4.1% in May)
• Computers & electronics: +0.3% (+0.8% in May)
• Electrical equipment, appliances & components: +0.6% (-0.5% in May)

Shipments of durable goods increased 0.5% in June, following a 0.3% May increase. Unfilled durable goods orders increased 1.0% in June, following a 3.4% May increase. Inventories for durable goods increased 0.2% matching May. Machinery led the inventory gain with a 0.4% increase for its fourth straight improvement.

May orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft increased 1.7% month-to-month.