The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Thursday that the value of new
factory orders surged 1.8 percent m-o-m in December 2022, following a
downwardly revised 1.9 percent m-o-m drop (from -1.8 percent m-o-m) in
November. That represented the sharpest monthly advance in factory
orders since June 2022 (+1.8 percent m-o-m).
Economists had predicted a gain of 2.2 percent m-o-m for December.
According to the report, orders for durable goods soared 5.6 percent
m-o-m in December, primarily due to a 16.9 jump in orders for transportation
equipment. Meanwhile, orders for nondurable goods fell 1.9 percent m-o-m.
Total factory orders excluding transportation, a volatile part of the
overall reading, fell 1.2 percent m-o-m (compared to a downwardly revised 1.2
percent m-o-m decrease (from -0.8 percent m-o-m) in November), while orders for
nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, a measure of business spending
plans, edged down 0.1 percent m-o-m (compared to a 0.2 percent m-o-m decline in
November and instead of decreasing 0.2 percent m-o-m as reported last month).
The report also revealed that shipments of core capital goods fell 0.6
percent m-o-m in December, rather than dropping 0.4 percent m-o-m as
previously reported.