Area Development
New orders for U.S. manufactured goods rose 0.7 percent in April from $2.5 billion to $344.4 billion, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau report. This follows a 1.9 percent decrease in March, adjusted from a 0.9 percent decline previously reported. Orders for transportation equipment, which increased 5.8 percent in April, drove the overall increase in factory orders.

Meanwhile shipments, which have been down for nine consecutive months, further decreased by 0.2 percent t0 $357.3 billion, representing the longest streak of consecutive decreases since this data was first published on an NAICS basis in 1992.