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U.S. March Durable Goods Orders Drop 5.7%
Demand for [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] slumped in March by the most in seven months, adding to signs Manufacturing in the U.S. cooled at the end of the first quarter.
Bookings for merchandise meant to last at least three years fell 5.7 percent after a revised 4.3 percent gain the prior month that was smaller than previously estimated, the Commerce Department reported today in [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register]. The less-volatile category that excludes transportation equipment unexpectedly dropped for a second month.
Companies such as [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] are feeling the pinch as customers rein in spending on equipment and inventories on concern that across-the-board [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] cuts and slower growth overseas will restrain the world’s largest economy. At the same time, gains in housing and [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] are benefiting others, including [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register], supporting a continued expansion.
“The weakness that we see developing in [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register], the recession in [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] and the unknown about the weight of the fiscal restraint in the U.S. from the sequester, all those increase uncertainty for business,” said [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register], chief economist at Credit Agricole CIB in [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] and the second-best durable-goods forecaster over the past two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Companies “are probably holding back a bit.”
Stocks were little changed, after a three-day gain for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as companies from Boeing Co. to Apple Inc. reported earnings. The [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] rose 0.1 percent to 1,579.6 at 12:11 p.m. in New York.
Investment Forecast
While the Orders data indicated [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] cooled in the first quarter after climbing at an 11.8 percent annual rate in the final three months of 2012, it is “still in a rising trend from a rare summer swoon last year,” [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register], chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York, said in an e-mail to clients. Spending on equipment and software dropped at a 2.6 percent rate in last year’s third quarter, the last time concern about global growth mounted.
Overseas, early figures covering the second quarter showed Europe is making little progress emerging from a recession. German business confidence declined in April for a second month after winter weather hindered the recovery in Europe’s largest economy, figures from the Ifo Institute showed today in Munich.
The median [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] of 78 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected U.S. Orders for durable goods would decline 3 percent in March. Estimates ranged from a drop of 6 percent to a 1 percent gain. The Commerce Department revised the February gain down from a previously reported 5.6 percent advance.
Broad Drop
Orders declined in March for commercial aircraft, metals, machinery and electrical equipment, today’s figures showed. Bookings advanced for automobiles, computers and communications gear.
Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar, the largest maker of mining equipment, cut its 2013 forecast and “significantly” lowered its outlook for demand from commodities producers. Sales in 2013 will be $57 billion to $61 billion, compared with an earlier forecast of $60 billion to $68 billion.
Capital expenditures by business remain weak, Michael DeWalt, Caterpillar’s director of [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register], said on an April 22 earnings call. Dealers whittled down inventories, and Orders for mining equipment including trucks and bulldozers fell in the first quarter.
Today’s report showed shipments of capital goods, a measure that’s used in calculating gross domestic product, climbed 0.3 percent and were up at a 4.1 percent rate in the past three months. They were up at a 5.1 percent pace in the three months to December.
Growth Projections
Economists at Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York lowered their first-quarter GDP tracking estimates after today’s report. JPMorgan reduced its projection to 2.9 percent from 3.1 percent, while Morgan Stanley lowered its forecast to 2.7 percent from 2.9 percent.
The Commerce Department will issue its initial estimate of first-quarter growth on April 26.
Today’s figures showed bookings for commercial aircraft, which are often volatile, declined 48.2 percent after surging 86.4 percent in February. [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register], the Chicago-based aerospace company, said it received Orders for 39 aircraft in March, down from 179 placed in February.
Boeing today reported profits that beat analysts’ estimates as the company delivered more profitable 777s and 737s. Revenue fell 2.5 percent to $18.9 billion because of a drop in 787 deliveries and the effect of budget cuts on Boeing’s defense business. Boeing said its commercial and defense backlog rose to a record $392 billion as it gained $20 billion of net Orders during the quarter.
Motor Vehicles
Orders for automobiles increased 0.2 percent last month after a 4.7 percent jump in February, today’s durable goods report showed. Cars and light trucks sold at a 15.2 million annual rate in March after 15.3 million the prior month, according to Ward’s Automotive Group [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register].
Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford, the second-largest U.S. automaker, today also reported first-quarter profit that exceeded estimates as the Fusion sedan bolstered record results for its North American operations.
The company forecast it would build 800,000 vehicles in [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] and 390,000 in Europe during the current quarter. That’s up 63,000 in North America and 21,000 in Europe from a year earlier. Automakers record revenue when vehicles are assembled and shipped to dealers.
Bookings for Durables excluding transportation equipment decreased 1.4 percent in March after a 1.7 percent drop the prior month, today’s Commerce Department report showed. Those Orders were projected to rise 0.5 percent, according to the Bloomberg survey median.
Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a proxy for future business investment in equipment such as computers and communications gear, rose 0.2 percent, capping a 16.7 percent annualized increase in the first three months of the year. That compares with a 20.4 percent fourth-quarter gain and indicates business spending will keep growing.
To contact the reporter on this story: Lorraine Woellert in Washington [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Wellisz at [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register]
[Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] Orders for U.S. Durable Goods Decline by Most Since August
![Manufacturing Cools Durables Orders Slump: i8bygaShUgtA.jpg]()
Weakness in overseas markets and lower commodities prices have slowed demand for some companies such as Caterpillar Inc., showing Manufacturing cooled as the first quarter drew to a close.
Weakness in overseas markets and lower commodities prices have slowed demand for some companies such as Caterpillar Inc., showing Manufacturing cooled as the first quarter drew to a close. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg
[Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] 8:49
April 22 (Bloomberg) -- Doug Oberhelman, chief executive officer of Caterpillar Inc., talks about the company's first-quarter earnings, 2013 forecast and growth outlook. Caterpillar’s profit for the year will be about $7 a share, compared with a January projection of $7 to $9, Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar said today in a statement. Oberhelman speaks with Trish Regan and Adam Johnson on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)
[Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] Orders for U.S. Durable Goods Decline by Most Since August
![Manufacturing Cools Durables Orders Slump: ikxzcC.ZBWp8.jpg]()
A drawing sits in front of craftsmen at Michael Rybovich & Sons Boat Works as they work to shape mahogany planks that will become the stem of an 86-foot sports fishing boat in North Palm Beach, Florida.
A drawing sits in front of craftsmen at Michael Rybovich & Sons Boat Works as they work to shape mahogany planks that will become the stem of an 86-foot sports fishing boat in North Palm Beach, Florida. Photographer: Mark Elias/Bloomberg
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U.S. March Durable Goods Orders Drop 5.7%
Demand for [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] slumped in March by the most in seven months, adding to signs Manufacturing in the U.S. cooled at the end of the first quarter.
Bookings for merchandise meant to last at least three years fell 5.7 percent after a revised 4.3 percent gain the prior month that was smaller than previously estimated, the Commerce Department reported today in [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register]. The less-volatile category that excludes transportation equipment unexpectedly dropped for a second month.
Companies such as [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] are feeling the pinch as customers rein in spending on equipment and inventories on concern that across-the-board [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] cuts and slower growth overseas will restrain the world’s largest economy. At the same time, gains in housing and [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] are benefiting others, including [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register], supporting a continued expansion.
“The weakness that we see developing in [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register], the recession in [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] and the unknown about the weight of the fiscal restraint in the U.S. from the sequester, all those increase uncertainty for business,” said [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register], chief economist at Credit Agricole CIB in [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] and the second-best durable-goods forecaster over the past two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Companies “are probably holding back a bit.”
Stocks were little changed, after a three-day gain for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as companies from Boeing Co. to Apple Inc. reported earnings. The [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] rose 0.1 percent to 1,579.6 at 12:11 p.m. in New York.
Investment Forecast
While the Orders data indicated [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] cooled in the first quarter after climbing at an 11.8 percent annual rate in the final three months of 2012, it is “still in a rising trend from a rare summer swoon last year,” [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register], chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York, said in an e-mail to clients. Spending on equipment and software dropped at a 2.6 percent rate in last year’s third quarter, the last time concern about global growth mounted.
Overseas, early figures covering the second quarter showed Europe is making little progress emerging from a recession. German business confidence declined in April for a second month after winter weather hindered the recovery in Europe’s largest economy, figures from the Ifo Institute showed today in Munich.
The median [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] of 78 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected U.S. Orders for durable goods would decline 3 percent in March. Estimates ranged from a drop of 6 percent to a 1 percent gain. The Commerce Department revised the February gain down from a previously reported 5.6 percent advance.
Broad Drop
Orders declined in March for commercial aircraft, metals, machinery and electrical equipment, today’s figures showed. Bookings advanced for automobiles, computers and communications gear.
Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar, the largest maker of mining equipment, cut its 2013 forecast and “significantly” lowered its outlook for demand from commodities producers. Sales in 2013 will be $57 billion to $61 billion, compared with an earlier forecast of $60 billion to $68 billion.
Capital expenditures by business remain weak, Michael DeWalt, Caterpillar’s director of [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register], said on an April 22 earnings call. Dealers whittled down inventories, and Orders for mining equipment including trucks and bulldozers fell in the first quarter.
Today’s report showed shipments of capital goods, a measure that’s used in calculating gross domestic product, climbed 0.3 percent and were up at a 4.1 percent rate in the past three months. They were up at a 5.1 percent pace in the three months to December.
Growth Projections
Economists at Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York lowered their first-quarter GDP tracking estimates after today’s report. JPMorgan reduced its projection to 2.9 percent from 3.1 percent, while Morgan Stanley lowered its forecast to 2.7 percent from 2.9 percent.
The Commerce Department will issue its initial estimate of first-quarter growth on April 26.
Today’s figures showed bookings for commercial aircraft, which are often volatile, declined 48.2 percent after surging 86.4 percent in February. [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register], the Chicago-based aerospace company, said it received Orders for 39 aircraft in March, down from 179 placed in February.
Boeing today reported profits that beat analysts’ estimates as the company delivered more profitable 777s and 737s. Revenue fell 2.5 percent to $18.9 billion because of a drop in 787 deliveries and the effect of budget cuts on Boeing’s defense business. Boeing said its commercial and defense backlog rose to a record $392 billion as it gained $20 billion of net Orders during the quarter.
Motor Vehicles
Orders for automobiles increased 0.2 percent last month after a 4.7 percent jump in February, today’s durable goods report showed. Cars and light trucks sold at a 15.2 million annual rate in March after 15.3 million the prior month, according to Ward’s Automotive Group [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register].
Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford, the second-largest U.S. automaker, today also reported first-quarter profit that exceeded estimates as the Fusion sedan bolstered record results for its North American operations.
The company forecast it would build 800,000 vehicles in [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] and 390,000 in Europe during the current quarter. That’s up 63,000 in North America and 21,000 in Europe from a year earlier. Automakers record revenue when vehicles are assembled and shipped to dealers.
Bookings for Durables excluding transportation equipment decreased 1.4 percent in March after a 1.7 percent drop the prior month, today’s Commerce Department report showed. Those Orders were projected to rise 0.5 percent, according to the Bloomberg survey median.
Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a proxy for future business investment in equipment such as computers and communications gear, rose 0.2 percent, capping a 16.7 percent annualized increase in the first three months of the year. That compares with a 20.4 percent fourth-quarter gain and indicates business spending will keep growing.
To contact the reporter on this story: Lorraine Woellert in Washington [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Wellisz at [Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register]
[Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] Orders for U.S. Durable Goods Decline by Most Since August
Weakness in overseas markets and lower commodities prices have slowed demand for some companies such as Caterpillar Inc., showing Manufacturing cooled as the first quarter drew to a close.Weakness in overseas markets and lower commodities prices have slowed demand for some companies such as Caterpillar Inc., showing Manufacturing cooled as the first quarter drew to a close. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg
[Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] 8:49
April 22 (Bloomberg) -- Doug Oberhelman, chief executive officer of Caterpillar Inc., talks about the company's first-quarter earnings, 2013 forecast and growth outlook. Caterpillar’s profit for the year will be about $7 a share, compared with a January projection of $7 to $9, Peoria, Illinois-based Caterpillar said today in a statement. Oberhelman speaks with Trish Regan and Adam Johnson on Bloomberg Television's "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)
[Dear Guest/Member you can't see link before click here to register] Orders for U.S. Durable Goods Decline by Most Since August
A drawing sits in front of craftsmen at Michael Rybovich & Sons Boat Works as they work to shape mahogany planks that will become the stem of an 86-foot sports fishing boat in North Palm Beach, Florida.A drawing sits in front of craftsmen at Michael Rybovich & Sons Boat Works as they work to shape mahogany planks that will become the stem of an 86-foot sports fishing boat in North Palm Beach, Florida. Photographer: Mark Elias/Bloomberg
