4/24/2015
By Jennifer Coombs

Durable goods orders for the month of March rebounded by 4.0% after dropping by 1.4% in February, while the Street called for a 0.5% increase. Excluding transportation orders, the cored reading dipped to 0.2%, after a decline of 1.3% in February, while expectations were for a 0.3% boost for March. Transportation orders for the month were up huge, jumping by 13.5% after a 1.8% dip in February. Gains were reported across all major transportation subcomponents, but the core reading was soft. Within this core reading, nearly all orders were down. The only major industry to post gains in the month was computers & electronics. The biggest declines were witnessed among primary metals, fabricated metals, machinery, and electrical equipment. Total nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft (noted in the chart below) declined by 0.5% in March after a 2.2% dip in February. However, shipments of this group were slightly weaker than the month before, declining by 0.4% in March after a 0.1% decline in February. Ultimately, the manufacturing sector is weak outside of transportation, and provides the doves in the Federal Reserve with another reason to not raise interest rates anytime soon.

Jennifer Coombs
Wall Street Strategies

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