August 2012 Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories and New Orders

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the value of manufactured-goods shipments decreased $1.3 billion or 0.3 percent to $476.9 billion. This followed a 1.9 percent July increase. Durable goods shipments decreased $6.7 billion or 2.9 percent to $222.4 billion, led by transportation equipment. Shipments of manufactured nondurable goods increased $5.4 billion or 2.2 percent to $254.5 billion. Petroleum and coal products led the increase.

Forest products shipments were mixed: Wood rose by 0.4 percent but Paper fell by 0.1 percent.
 

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Data from the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) advance seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index help round out the picture on goods shipments. AAR reported a 32.4 percent increase in not-seasonally adjusted rail shipments in August (relative to July), and a 1.4 percent drop from a year earlier. Excluding coal carloads, year-over-years shipments were up 3.3 percent. Seasonal adjustments turned the 32.4 percent July-to-August increase to a 0.7 percent decrease. Rail shipments of forest-related products were higher in August than a year earlier. The ATA’s advance index showed a 0.9 percent contraction in August.
 

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Inventories increased $3.7 billion or 0.6 percent to $611.8 billion in August -- the highest level since the series was first published on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 0.6 percent July increase. The inventories-to-shipments ratio was 1.28, up from 1.27 in July.

Durable goods inventories increased $2.4 billion or 0.6 percent to $372.2 billion, led by transportation equipment. Inventories of nondurable goods increased $1.3 billion or 0.6 percent to $239.6 billion. Petroleum and coal products drove the increase.

Wood and Paper inventories were split: Wood rose by 0.3 while Paper fell by 0.6 percent.
 

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New orders for manufactured goods decreased $24.9 billion or 5.2 percent to $452.8 billion. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.7 percent.

Durable goods orders decreased $30.3 billion or 13.2 percent to $198.3 billion, led once again by transportation equipment. New orders for nondurable goods increased $5.4 billion or 2.2 percent to $254.5 billion.