Manufacturers in the United States saw a surge of orders in September, Commerce Department data showed Thursday, contradicting private sector surveys indicating a contraction in factory activity.
Orders for manufactured goods rose 2.8 percent in September, the Commerce Department said. That’s the biggest monthly gain since the economy began to reopen from pandemic lockdowns in January 2021.
Wall Street was expecting a 2.5 percent gain.
The Commerce Department’s estimate for the prior month was revised down to one percent form the initial estimate of 1.2 percent.
Compared with the first nine months of 2022, orders are up 0.7 percent. September orders were three percent higher than a year ago, the second consecutive month of year-over-year gains after three months of contraction.
Orders for durable goods rose by 4.6 percent, up from the preliminary estimate of 4.7 percent that was released on October 26. Durable goods order had fallen 0.1 percent in August and 5.6 percent in July. Year-to-date durable goods orders are up 4.4 percent. Compared with a year ago, September durable goods orders were up seven percent.
Orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, considered a proxy for business investment, rose a revised 0.5 percent in September, down slightly from the preliminary estimate of 0.6 percent.
The Institute for Supply Management’s survey of purchasing managers has indicated that the manufacturing sector has been in contraction for 12 months. The government’s gauge of factory orders, however, has shown expansion in six of the last seven months.