Mar factory orders +1.6%, slightly above....>

US DATA: Mar factory orders +1.6%, slightly above the +1.4% exp, with 

durable goods orders unrev at +2.6%. Nondurable goods orders +0.5% on 

petro and coal products. 

- Excluding the +7.6% surge in transportation orders, factory orders 

would have been +0.3%. 

- Nondefense capital goods new orders +5.8%, but -0.4% ex aircraft.    

- Total factory shipments were +0.4% in Mar, with nondefense capital 

goods shipments +2.1%, but -0.8% ex aircraft.

- Factory inventories +0.3%, so combined with the advance estimates for 

retail (-0.4%) and wholesale inventories (+0.5%), this would result in 

+0.1% for business inventories.