US June Factory Orders Rose 1.5%, But Missed Estimates

Businesses increased their overall orders for factory goods in June. But factory orders fell short of estimates for the third month in the last four.

New orders for factories increased $7.6 billion or 1.5 percent in June, to $496.7 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Friday. This followed a 3.0 percent May increase. The result came in short of economists' consensus of a 2.3 percent rise. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.4 percent.

Factory orders in June were boosted by demand for transportation equipment, which rose 12 percent. Excluding the volatile transportation category, orders slipped 0.4 percent after rising 1.0 percent in May. That’s the worst performance in three months.

Orders for durable goods, defined as manufactured products expected to last at least three years or more, rose 3.9 percent instead of the 4.2 percent increase reported last week.

Demand for non-defense capital-goods orders excluding aircraft, considered a good proxy for business confidence, rose 0.9 percent.