Durable-Goods Orders Drop for First Time Since Last Spring

Orders for durable manufactured goods fell last month by 1.1% as U.S. factories faced supply-chain challenges due to poor weather and other factors. The drop ended a streak of nine months of gains. Chad Moutray, chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers, told The Wall Street Journal (subscription) that “this should not take away from the larger story of strength in manufacturing, which has rebounded strongly since last spring.”

Moutray reports the IHS Markit Flash U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index strengthened slightly, rising from 58.6 in February to 59.0 in March. 3/24/2021