New orders and shipments of fabricated metal products in the US fell in April according to data released Wednesday by the US Census Bureau of the US Department of Commerce. New orders slowed 1.1 percent while shipments of fabricated products dropped 0.7 percent, both on a month-over-month basis.
As for total manufacturing results in April, new orders for manufactured durable goods fell $7.1 billion or 3.6 percent to $189.9 billion, representing a decrease in two of the last three months. New orders in March were up 4.4 percent. Transportation equipment had the largest decrease, falling $4.9 billion or 9.5 percent to $46.7 billion in April.
Total shipments of manufactured durable goods declined in April as well, dropping $2 billion or 1 percent to $194.9 billion. Shipments of transportation equipment had the most drastic month-on-month decline, falling $1.5 billion or 3 percent to $46.6 billion in April.
Unfilled orders, up 12 of the last 13 months, continued increasing in April. Unfilled orders rose 0.2 percent to $849.5 billion last month. The largest increase was in unfilled orders for machinery, which increased $2.2 billion or 2.2 percent to $103.6 billion in April.