**MNI: 5 Things We Learned From The December Factory Orders Data>

By Holly Stokes and Sara Haire

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following are the key points from the 

December factory orders report from the US Census Bureau as a 

part of the Commerce Department released Friday: 

     - Factory orders rose 1.7% in the month, higher than the 1.5% gain 

expected by analysts, matching the upward revised 1.7% rise in November. 

Factory orders have now been up six of the last seven months. New orders 

were up 6.0% not seasonally adjusted in 2017 from 2016.  

     - Factory inventories saw a 0.5% rise. If the advance data for the 

0.2% gain in wholesale inventories and the 0.2% increase in retail 

inventories is not revised, business inventories should see a 0.3% 

increase, based on an MNI calculation. 

     - Factory orders ex transportation saw a 0.7% increase, softer than 

November's 1.1% gain and October's 1.2% gain. This increase makes it the 

seventh consecutive rise. Nondefense capital goods new orders was down 

0.4% in the month, and declined 0.6% when excluding aircraft. 

     - Durables was revised down 1pp to a 2.8% increase from the advance 

estimate, while nondurables rose 0.7% with petroleum and coal products 

leading the increase with a 1.4% rise. Beverage and tobacco products 

also saw a jump of 1.6%, with few declines reported.    

     - With factory inventories rising 0.5%, and shipments rising 0.6%, 

the inventory to shipment ratio remained at 1.35 from November, but down 

from 1.36 in October and 1.37 in September. 

     ** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 ** 

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