New orders for U.S. manufactured goods fell 3.6% in October following two straight months of increases, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau released Dec. 4.

October orders decreased by $21.8 billion to a total of $576.8 billion, following increases of 2.3% in September and 1.0% in August.

• October shipments, down two consecutive months, likewise fell 1.4% from September to $577.8 billion.
• Unfilled orders, up 10 of the past 11 months, increased 0.3% in October to $1.357 trillion, following a 1.3% September increase.
• October’s unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio was 6.90, up from 6.88 in September.
• Inventories, up four consecutive months, ticked up 0.1% to $857 billion, following a 0.1% September increase.
• October’s inventories-to-shipments ratio was 1.48, up from 1.46 in September.

New orders

Bureau data showed that October orders for manufactured durable goods, down three of the past four months, fell 5.4% from September to $279.4 billion — unchanged from the Nov. 22 advance report — following a 4.0% increase. Transportation equipment drove the decline with a 14.7% decrease. New orders for manufactured nondurable goods decreased 1.9% to $297.3 billion.