New orders for manufactured goods increased by 1pc or $5bn to $487.2bn in November 2020 against the prior month, according to US Census Bureau data. Orders for durable goods increased by 1pc or $2.3bn to $244.4bn while orders for nondurable goods increased by 1.1pc or $2.7bn to $242.8bn in November.
Shipments increased by 0.7pc or $3.4bn to $492.9bn in November 2020 over the preceding month. Manufacturer’s shipments of primary metals increased by 1.7pc to $19bn in November against the previous month. Fabricated metal shipments increased by 0.3pc to $31bn in November against October. In the same comparison, machinery shipments rose by 0.4pc to $31.7bn while transportation equipment shipments climbed by 0.4pc to $82.4bn.
Order backlogs declined by 0.1pc to $1.07tn in November, a figure that has declined in eight of the past nine months as the economy and industrial activity recovers from COVID-19 related shutdowns. transportation equipment accounted for 66pc or $713.4bn of order backlogs in November. Inventories increased by 0.7pc or $5.1bn to $692.9bn in November.