Overview
- The Commerce Department reported Monday that March factory orders rose 1.5%, topping forecasts and marking the strongest monthly gain since November.
- Computers and electronic products jumped 3.6% to $29.6 billion, the biggest one-month increase in 25 years, with electromedical and measuring instruments up 7.9% to a record $10.6 billion.
- A key gauge of business equipment demand, nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, was revised to a 3.4% increase, while shipments rose 1.2%.
- Total inventories rose 0.6% and the inventories-to-shipments ratio edged to 1.51 months, a sign that orders reflect real demand rather than stockpiling.
- Broader measures also improved as nondurable goods orders rose 2.1%, even as reports cite higher input costs and longer delivery times linked to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and a near-50% jump in oil prices.