Factory Orders Rise for Third Straight Month in July

Orders placed with U.S. factories rose 1.6% in July, led by more bookings for motor vehicles, computers and machinery, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Improving factory orders translate to increased demand for trucking services because factories depend on trucks to deliver raw materials and carry finished products to stores and warehouses.

The increase to $329.4 billion following a revised 1.9% gain in June. Economists had expected factory orders only to rise 0.8%, Bloomberg reported. Excluding transportation equipment, orders rose 2.1%, the biggest gain since April 2002.

Orders have risen for three straight months, the longest string of increases since March-May 1994.

July durable orders, which account for more than half of the report, rose 1% after a 2.5% surge the month before, Commerce said.

Orders for motor vehicles increased 3.9%, while bookings rose 1.5% for machinery and 4.9% for computers.

Factory inventories fell 0.5% in July, the biggest decrease since February of last year. The inventory-to-shipments ratio dropped to 1.31 months, matching the record low reached in January 2000, from 1.35 months in June.

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