U.S. Factory Orders Rebound Slightly More Than Expected In July

After reporting a steep drop by new orders for U.S. manufactured goods in the previous month, the Commerce Department released a report on Wednesday showing factory orders rebounded by slightly more than expected in the month of July.

The Commerce Department said factory orders spiked by 5.0 percent in July after plunging by 3.3 percent in June. Economists had expected factory orders to surge by 4.7 percent.

The rebound by factory orders came as durable goods orders soared by 9.8 percent in July after plummeting by 6.9 percent in June. Orders for transportation equipment led the way higher, skyrocketing by 34.7 percent.

The report said orders for non-durable goods also climbed by 0.8 percent in July after coming in unchanged in the previous month.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said shipments of manufactured goods advanced by 0.9 percent in July following a 0.6 percent increase in June.

Inventories of manufactured goods also crept up by 0.1 percent in July, matching the uptick seen in the previous month.

With shipments climbing by much more than inventories, the inventories-to-shipments ratio edged down to 1.45 in July from 1.46 in June.