May 31, 2009

New orders for manufactured durable goods in April increased $3.0 billion or 1.9 percent to $161.5 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced. This was the second increase in the last three months and followed a 2.1 percent March decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.8 percent. Excluding defense, new orders also increased 1.0 percent.
 
Transportation equipment, up three consecutive months, had the largest increase, $2.1 billion or 5.4 percent to $40.5 billion.
 
Shipments of manufactured durable goods in April, down nine consecutive months, decreased $0.3 billion or 0.2 percent to $174.2 billion. This was the longest streak of consecutive monthly decreases since the series was first published on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 1.9 percent …

The Industrial Product Price Index (IPPI) and the Raw Materials Price Index (RMPI) were both down 0.5% in April compared with March, halting their upward movements since the start of the year according to Statistics Canada.
 
The decline in the IPPI was led by lower prices for motor vehicles and other transport equipment (-2.2%) and pulp and paper products (-2.3%). These two product groups are more affected by fluctuations in the exchange rate.
 
The Canadian dollar rose 3.3% in April in relation to its US counterpart. If the exchange rate used to convert these prices had remained unchanged, the IPPI would have risen 0.3% instead of declining 0.5%.
 
12-month change
Year over year, the IPPI fell 2.2% in April following …