U.S. Factory Orders Rise Less Than Expected In September

(RTTNews) - New orders for U.S. manufactured goods saw a modest increase in the month of September, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday.

The Commerce Department said factory orders rose by 0.2 percent in September after jumping by a downwardly revised 1.3 percent in August.

Economists had expected factory orders to climb by 0.5 percent compared to the 1.4 percent surge originally reported for the previous month.

The modest increase by factory orders came as durable goods orders grew by 0.5 percent in September after spiking by 3.0 percent in August.

Meanwhile, the report said orders for non-durable goods edged down by 0.1 percent in September after falling by 0.4 percent in August.

The Commerce Department also said shipments of manufactured goods were virtually unchanged in September following a 0.3 percent decrease in August.

Inventories of manufactured goods slipped by 0.1 percent in September, matching the dip seen in the previous month, the report said.

With inventories and shipments both little changed, the inventories-to-shipments ratio came in at 1.56 in September, unchanged from August.