Factory Orders: Continued Declines

Bottom Line:  The Factory Orders report confirmed the continued declines in March that were reported in surveys and initial durable goods reports. While the headline durable goods number was higher, most other core segments were lower, and nearly all continued to trend lower. Nondurable goods manufacturing continued to decline, lagging the durable goods segment by a few months. The key sectors, auto, and aircraft, remain volatile and offer occasional bounces in activity, but the trends remain towards contraction. Overall, the "hard" manufacturing data confirms the "soft" survey data, suggesting further but more modest declines.