Manufactured Durable Goods Orders Rise for Second Consecutive Month

Highlights

• Manufactured durable goods orders show positive trend with second monthly increase.
• Transportation equipment plays a crucial role in driving overall growth.
• US goods and services deficit declines, while exports experience positive growth.

Manufactured Durable Goods Show Positive Growth

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, new orders for manufactured durable goods in April showed a positive trend, marking a second consecutive monthly increase.

The total value of these orders rose by $3.1 billion, equivalent to a 1.1 percent growth, reaching a sum of $283.0 billion.

This growth followed a significant 3.3 percent increase in March. However, when excluding transportation from the calculations, new orders experienced a slight decline of 0.2 percent. Similarly, excluding defense-related orders, there was a decrease of 0.6 percent.

The surge in transportation equipment played a crucial role in driving the overall increase in new orders, as it experienced consecutive growth for two months, contributing $3.5 billion or 3.7 percent to reach a total of $97.6 billion.

US Trade Deficit Narrows, Exports Rise

Today, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis jointly announced that the goods and services deficit in March amounted to $64.2 billion, indicating a decline of $6.4 billion compared to the revised figure of $70.6 billion recorded in February.

March witnessed an increase in exports, which totaled $256.2 billion, exceeding February exports by $5.3 billion. Conversely, March imports amounted to $320.4 billion, reflecting a decrease of $1.1 billion in comparison to February imports.

March’s decrease in the goods and services deficit was driven by a $6.4 billion reduction in the goods deficit, reaching $86.6 billion. The services surplus also saw a slight decrease, settling at $22.4 billion with a marginal decline of less than $0.1 billion.

When considering the year-to-date performance, the goods and services deficit has significantly decreased by $77.6 billion, marking a notable decline of 27.6 percent compared to the same period in 2022. Moreover, exports have shown positive growth, increasing by $61.4 billion or 8.7 percent, while imports experienced a decline of $16.2 billion or 1.6 percent.