Factory orders rebound in November (Largest gain in 8 months)

[Harry Hope]

Source: Reuters

Factory orders rebound in November

(Reuters) -

New orders received by factories unexpectedly rose in November, and orders excluding transportation recorded their largest gain in eight months, according to a government report on Tuesday that pointed to underlying strength in manufacturing.

The Commerce Department said orders for manufactured goods increased 0.7 percent after dropping by a revised 0.7 percent in October.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast factory orders slipping 0.1 percent in November from a previously reported 0.9 percent decline in October. Orders have risen in four of the last five months and Tuesday's data was the latest to offer evidence the economic recovery was now firmly on a sustainable path.

Manufacturing has been the star performer during the recovery from the worst recession since the 1930s and continues to expand even as businesses are starting to pull back in rebuilding their inventories.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6BM24V20110104

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Kickin' that ole Republican recession to hell.

Harry

[nyy1998]

1. C'mon economic indicators, keep picking it up!!!

[LiberalEsto]

2. Factories?

Who knew we had factories right here in the U.S. of A.
Or do they mean factories in China?

:hide:

[Pirate Smile]

3. I just heard a news report (within the past week) state that the United States is still the largest

manufacturer in the world.

I googled it and the most recent article I found was from about a year ago:

U.S. Remains Largest Manufacturer in the World



According to the Federal Reserve, the value of U.S. manufacturing output in 2008 was $2.946 trillion, measured in 2000 dollars. Converted to 2008 dollars (link), that would be about $3.7 trillion, and the chart above shows how the U.S. manufacturing sector compares to the entire output, or GDP, of the top five largest economies in the world in 2008 (data): Japan ($4.9 trillion), China ($4.3T), Germany ($3.7T), U.K. ($2.7T) and Italy ($2.3T).


Bottom Line: If the U.S. manufacturing sector were a separate country, it would be tied with Germany as the world's third largest economy. It would also be larger than the entire economies of India and Russia combined. As much as we hear about the "demise of U.S. manufacturing," and how we are a country that "doesn't produce anything anymore," and how we have "outsourced our production to China," the U.S. manufacturing sector is alive and well, and the U.S. is still the largest manufacturer in the world.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/179165-u-s-remains-largest-manufacturer-in-the-world

[LiberalEsto]

4. Hmmm. I wonder what they manufacture.

That's interesting information, and thank you for posting it.

[Pirate Smile]

5. I think the problem is that it requires fewer workers because of automation, computers, robotics,

etc.

The things that require more workers have moved to where they can pay people little to nothing to do the work.

I heard it and was going - What? Really? That is certainly not the impression anyone has any more.

edit to add - Frankly, I think we have gone from over-estimating our power and position to underestimating it with an unnecessary pessimism.

[pampango]

12. That's a problem in all the developed economies - less labor producing more manufactured goods.

In the United States (the red line), manufacturing as a share of total employment has fallen 15.5 percentage points in recent decades, from 26.4 percent of jobs in 1970 to 10.9 percent in 2008. In some other countries the decline has been even steeper. In Britain, for example, the share of employment held by manufacturing has fallen 21.9 percentage points in the last few decades, from 33.9 percent in 1971 to 12 percent in 2008.

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/16/manufacturing-around-the-world

I wonder if the rate of decline in manufacturing jobs exceeds the rate at which agricultural jobs declined in the past 150 years. In 1860 more than 50% the American workforce was in agriculture; now it's less than 4%.

[Pirate Smile]

14. True and it would be interesting to see more details about other times when the US and/or the world

transitioned from their previous economic system (such as agriculture as you stated) to a new one (the Industrial Revolution). We know that had to cause enormous pain and dislocation as the workforce transitioned to the new reality.

The fact that we are in the midst of one of these transitions and that is exacerbating our unemployment problems has been stated by a lot of economists as well as President Obama.

However, recognition of the macroeconomic view does not make living with unemployment and trying to find a new job any easier.

This does remind me of a discussion somewhere about how the advancement of gas streetlights eventually put all the lamplighters out of business.

[JDPriestly]

9. Weapons?

We also produce a few sweat pants, work clothes and agricultural items. But I don't see consumer goods in the stores that are Made in the US. We do produce a lot of agricultural products like plucked chickens, chicken pieces. Are agricultural products considered to be manufactured?

[Kolesar]

7. Wow...eom

[yodermon]

6. jobs to follow

oh wait

[JDPriestly]

8. Where are the factories in which orders increased?

Are they in the US? Or in some other country?

Because if factory orders in Costa Rica or China or Mexico are increasing, this is sad. If they are increasing in US factories, then we have cause to celebrate.

[Pirate Smile]

10. This is US factories. There still are a lot of them.

"The manufacturing sector continued its growth trend as indicated by this month's report. We saw significant recovery for much of the U.S. manufacturing sector in 2010. The recovery centered on strength in autos, metals, food, machinery, computers and electronics, while those industries tied primarily to housing continue to struggle. Additionally, manufacturers that export have benefitted from both global demand and the weaker dollar. December's strong readings in new orders and production, combined with positive comments from the panel, should create momentum as we go into the first quarter of 2011."

PERFORMANCE BY INDUSTRY
Of the 18 manufacturing industries, 11 are reporting growth in December, in the following order: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Primary Metals; Fabricated Metal Products; Machinery; Computer & Electronic Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Textile Mills; Plastics & Rubber Products; Transportation Equipment; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; and Chemical Products. The four industries reporting contraction in December are: Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Paper Products; Printing & Related Support Activities; and Miscellaneous Manufacturing.



http://bonddad.blogspot.com/2011/01/ism-increases.html

[defendandprotect]

15. Yet, 50,000 manufacturing plants in US closed over last 10 years ... !!

[JDPriestly]

16. I don't see any statement that the manufacturing facilities are in the US.

I have heard that the government counts manufacturing that actually takes place in other countries.

Seems to me that an article like that would at least refer to one specific manufacturer and probably quote from a manager in the manufacturing company. That's usually the way articles like that are written.

There are utterly no specifics, no details in that article. It could be talking about manufacturing in S. Korea or anywhere. It does not so much as mention the US or America.

[Scurrilous]

11. Good news.

Thanks. :thumbsup:

[pnorman]

13. K & R!

n/t