Commerce Confirms Factory Slowdown

Confirming what many manufacturers already knew, the U.S. Commerce Department reported on June 2 that factory orders fell in April. New orders were down 1.8% to $398 billion. New orders rose 4% in March and a tenth of a percentage point in February.

New orders for manufactured durable goods in April were $209.9 billion, down 4.4% from March's figure. New orders for nondurables actually increased in April, rising 1.2% from March to $188.1 billion.