Driven by major gains in transportation equipment, July factory orders posted a strong rebound after decreases in June and May.
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Despite an August uptick that ended four straight months of decline, the latest reading indicated U.S. manufacturing continues to see weak demand.
While up year-over-year, it declined monthly from a flat June.
The U.S. economy’s growth increased in 2Q, driven by consumer spending and private inventory investment.
Driven by transportation, July’s total increased substantially and marked a sharp rebound from June’s 6.7% decline.
The U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman gave his strongest indication yet that the central bank is poised to begin cutting its benchmark interest rate in September.
With demand softness lasting longer than any industrial distributor would prefer, we examine recent executive commentary and numerous economic indicators to make sense of business conditions.
The Census Bureau’s monthly new residential construction release highlighted a major decrease in housing starts year-over-year.
The Conference Board highlighted deterioration in new orders and weak consumer expectations as reasons for LEI decline in July.
Stabilizing inflation expectations and shifting election sentiments highlighted the latest University of Michigan U.S. consumer survey.
July saw losses in manufacturing output, highlighting the impact Hurricane Beryl had in the industrial sector.
The latest AMT report shows a decrease from May and a 4.2% decrease compared to the same period a year earlier.
Month-to-month, all but two of the U.S. wholesale trade’s 19 sectors saw further regression in our August forecast.
July’s monthly figure decelerated slightly from June.
June total was up 4.3% vs May, but the first half of 2024 still remains down 11% year-over-year.
After a May increase, Government data indicated that sales fell month-to-month but rose year-over-year in June.
More than half of respondents in the 2Q24 Baird-MDM Distribution Survey indicated they characterized 2Q24 as slightly or much more competitive than a year earlier.
U.S. unemployment rose to 4.3% in July, higher than a year earlier when unemployment was at 3.5%.
It was the second straight monthly decrease after May orders fell 0.5%.
HARDI reports a revenue increase for distributors in June, despite fewer billing days compared to last year.
