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February Factory Orders Rose 1.3%

New orders for manufactured goods in February, up three of the last four months, increased $6.0 billion or 1.3 percent to $468.4 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. This followed a 1.1 percent January decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.9 percent.

Shipments, up nine consecutive months, increased $0.3 billion or 0.1 percent to $462.6 billion. This followed a 0.6 percent January increase.

Unfilled orders, up twenty-two of the last twenty-three months, increased $12.1 billion or 1.3 percent to $931.1 billion. This followed a 0.7 percent January increase. The unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio was 6.23, up from 6.12 in January.

Inventories, up twenty-eight of the last twenty-nine months, increased $2.2 billion or 0.4 percent to $616.8 billion. This was at the highest level since the series was first published on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 0.6 percent January increase. The inventories-to- shipments ratio was 1.33, unchanged from January.

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