The U.S.
Commerce Department said on Tuesday that the value of new factory orders plunged
by 3.7 per cent m-o-m in April, following a downwardly revised
3.4 per cent m-o-m soar (from +4.3 per cent m-o-m) in March. This was the first
decline in factory orders in five months and the steepest one since January 2024 (-4.6
per cent m-o-m).
Economists had predicted a decrease of 3.0 per cent m-o-m for April.
According to
the report, orders for durable goods tumbled
6.3 per cent m-o-m in April, primarily reflecting a 17.1 per cent m-o-m plummet
in transportation equipment. Meanwhile,
orders for nondurable goods dropped 0.9 per cent m-o-m.
Total factory
orders excluding transportation, a volatile part of the overall reading, fell
by 0.5 per cent m-o-m (compared to a downwardly revised 0.5 per cent m-o-m slip
(from -0.2 per cent m-o-m) in March), while orders for nondefense capital goods
excluding aircraft, a measure of business spending plans, went down 1.5 per
cent m-o-m (compared to an 0.3 per
cent m-o-m gain in March and instead of falling by 1.3 per cent m-o-m as reported last month).
On a y-o-y basis, factory orders rose 2.0 per cent in
April.