Factories See Orders for Costly Manufactured Goods Fall by 4.9 Percent in

[Lochloosa]

Factories See Orders for Costly Manufactured Goods Fall by 4.9 Percent in July

By Jeannine Aversa The Associated Press
Published: Aug 24, 2005




WASHINGTON (AP) -Orders to U.S. factories for costly manufactured goods fell in July by the largest amount in 18 months, underscoring the occasionally erratic pace of recovery from the 2001 recession in the manufacturing sector.
The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new bookings for "durable" goods - big-ticket items expected to last at least three years - declined by 4.9 percent in July from the previous month.


(snip)

Manufacturers were hardest hit by the recession and they struggled mightily to get back to good health. Analysts believe the factory sector has shown much improvement and is in good shape, although factory employment is still weak and there can be ups and downs in bookings from month to month.

The weakness seen in July hit a broad range of categories, including machinery, computers, communications equipment, electrical equipment and appliances, and airplanes. That more than offset stronger demand for automobiles and parts, and primary metals, a category that includes steel.

And let the Recession begin....

Edit to add link..

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB9MBMKRCE.html

[unhappycamper]

1. Link please. n/t

[Lochloosa]

2. Added..thanks.

[fasttense]

3. The repukes have to keep repeating their mantra

"The economy is fine, the economy is fine" so that news reports like these don't sink into their conscious thoughts.

A 55 year old accountant repuke I know got fired from his job because it just "went away". Out of the blue he is told they don't have a job for him. Goes to work one day, the next day after working for the company for 25 years, he is told they don't have a job for him anymore. But he still says the economy is fine thanks to brush. They must have to repeat their mantra all the time to keep reality out.

[converted_democrat]

8. I know a couple like that!!!!

My husband has had a friend that he has known since he was 7. They came to visit a couple months back. His friend is a pharma rep., and his wife is/was a engineer for Delphi. She was given notice before she left on vacation that she would no longer have a job, but that did not stop them from singing the praises of the Bush economy. I just bit my tongue and kept my mouth shut, because it would not have done any good. They were talking about how they were going to have to sell their home, and buy a smaller one, and how they could not do everything that they had planned on vacation because of a lack of funds, but they still didn't "get it." The worst though is when "Mark" told me that there was "no proof" that global warming existed, and that the "liberal media" was making things out to be worse than they really were in Iraq. I tried briefly to talk to him, but when I started confronting him with facts he told me that he "didn't have time" to figure out what was really going on over there. They sent us pics of their vacation, but I could not even bring myself to respond to them. It just made me ill, that they could "really" be that stupid. I bet they are wondering why we have not called, but I don't care.

[Javaman]

9. There is a period between when fantasy turns to reality...

I suspect at some point, your friends will meet reality. Right now they are in transition. And when they are in reality, make sure the vote Democratic in the next election, as I suspect, it probably won't be hard to convince them at that point.

colossal failure*

[Arkansas Granny]

12. It's hard to convince someone who doesn't want to believe.

I think your friends, and a lot of people who voted for Bush, will defend him to the very end because they don't want to believe that they've been "Bushwhacked". It's much easier to blame someone else for their problems than to admit that they aided and abetted the current administration to wreak such havoc.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

4. In my line of work, this is what we are seeing....

I run a recycling center in the NW, and I have noticed some very disturbing little trends.

It used to be that I could get rid of every bit of OCC (Old Corrugated Cardboard) in inventory by sending it to NW mills - if one was full, the others would take it. These last two months we have had a build up of inventory, even though our incoming supply has dropped compared to last year. The mills are not getting orders for the finished products they make, mostly new boxes. Part of the reason is that China has recently built several new mills, and the products that used to be shipped to the US, and then boxed up are now being boxed up before shipping to US. US mill orders for boxes are dropping.
The other thing that worries me is the incoming product. We aren't the only Rec. Center in this area that is having a slow quarter. One very large nat. company (who will not be named) had their first losing month in years (July). As consumers have to stop buying because prices are rising - we get less post consumer paper.
Two years ago, I was optimistic, thinking that maybe I was in one industry that might not be hit so hard by the bad economy. I have the terrible feeling that I was wrong.

[hatrack]

5. Gosh - guess the SubZero/Karastan/slate whirlpool bathtub sector's sated

What will happen to our dynamic economic recovery now? :eyes:

[magellan]

6. Finish this sentence:

"(T)he occasionally erratic pace of recovery from the 2001 recession..."

Goes hand in hand with "the insurgency is in its last throes"?

Good Lord, what a load of unmitigated bollucks.

[raccoon]

7. Big ticket items, huh?

"The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new bookings for "durable" goods - big-ticket items expected to last at least three years - declined by 4.9 percent in July from the previous month. "

Surprise, surprise! People working for minimum wage or slightly above it CAN'T BUY big-ticket items.

[Roland99]

10. And with home sales slowing down....

[DavidDvorkin]

11. "A further indication that the manufacturing sector is still volatile"

I think that was how NPR put it this morning.

When consumer confidence falls, they report that it has "eased".