November 2010 Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories and New Orders

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Shipments, inventories and new orders all posted gains at the total manufacturing level during November, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
 

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Shipments, up three consecutive months, increased $3.4 billion (0.8 percent) to $424.5 billion. Durable goods decreased $0.3 billion (0.1 percent), led by transportation equipment. However, nondurable goods -- especially petroleum and coal products -- offset that decline, increasing $3.7 billion (1.7 percent).

Solid wood shipments increased by 0.7 percent (to $6.4 billion), but paper declined by 0.5 percent (to $14.3 billion).
 

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Data from the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and the Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index (PCI) help round out the picture on goods shipments. AAR indicated a continued decline in rail shipments during November, although the rate of decline was slower than in October. The PCI (which measures diesel consumption of over-the-road trucking) rose by 0.4 percent, but that increase was insufficient to offset the decline of 0.6 percent in the previous month, and not nearly enough to offset the 2.1 percent drop in the PCI since July.
 

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Inventories, up 10 of the last 11 months, increased $4.1 billion (0.8 percent) to $543.8 billion. Durable goods inventories increased $2.0 billion (0.6 percent), unchanged from October’s rate of increase; transportation equipment led the durables increase. Nondurable goods rose by $2.1 billion (0.9 percent), led by petroleum and coal products. Inventories of both Wood and Paper Products declined.
 

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New orders for manufactured goods, up four of the last five months, increased $3.2 billion (0.7 percent) to $423.8 billion in November. Durable goods orders decreased $0.6 billion (0.3 percent), led by transportation equipment, while nondurable goods rose by $3.7 billion (1.7 percent).