Factory Orders Up Again in July

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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The Commerce Department reported today that orders businesses placed to U.S. factories rose 2.8% in July after falling in the previous month. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a 2% rise. June’s decrease of 0.5% was not revised.

Orders for durable goods, those manufactured products expected to last at least three years, were revised to a 4.1% gain from the 4.2% rise reported last week. Much of that gain was driven by a big jump in demand for aircraft.

Orders for nondurable goods, such as food and clothing to paper and chemical products, rose 1.5% in July. Factory shipments increased 2% in July, while inventories saw a gain of 0.5%.

There is and ongoing concern that U.S. manufacturing could falter. A possible slowdown in manufacturing has been blamed in part on rising business uncertainty over what Washington policymakers will do at the end of the year regarding the so-called fiscal cliff. That is, the danger that tax rates suddenly will jump and government programs will face signficant across-the-board spending cuts if Congress and the White House do not come to a budget agreement.

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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