Factory Shipments Fell in April While New Orders Increased
The overall April increase was less than a consensus forecast of economist polled by Reuters, increasing concerns that these and other economic indicators show the economy is not as robust in the second quarter of the year as it was during the first quarter.
Shipments of factory orders have fallen for the second straight month while new orders have moved higher.
A new U.S. Commerce Department report shows shipments fell 0.7% in April following a 1.5% drop in March. Shipments of manufactured durable goods fell 0.4% following a 0.9% increase in March while shipments of non-durable manufactured goods, dropped for the second straight month in April by 1%.
In contrast, new factory order numbers look better adding 1% in April from the month before, up two of the last three months. Excluding new transportation orders the decline was only 0.1%. March’s performance was revised downward reflecting a 4.7% decline.
Orders for manufactured durable goods in April increased 3.5% while those for non-durable goods fell 1%.
The overall April increase was less than a consensus forecast of economists polled by Reuters, increasing concerns that these and other economic indicators show the economy is not as robust in the second quarter of the year as it was during the first quarter.
More Fleet Management

Give Your Trucking Fleet a Cybersecurity Walkaround
Your fleet's cybersecurity policies may look good on paper. These seven checks can help you find out whether they’re working.
Read More →
Kodiak Lines Up Fleets for Driverless Trucking
An agreement for 75 trucks, a new Texas freight lane, and progress on safety validation move Kodiak closer to its planned driverless highway launch.
Read More →
ITS Logistics Settles Religious Harassment Case
The Nevada-based logistics firm agreed to pay more than $396,000 to settle a religious harassment charge involving an employee's Jewish identity.
Read More →
Your Trucks Are Busy. That Doesn’t Mean They’re Winning.
High utilization doesn’t always mean strong margins. Looking beyond the current load can help fleets make better dispatch decisions and get more value from each truck’s time.
Read More →
Why This Trucking Recovery Is Different
Freight demand remains sluggish, but rising costs and tougher enforcement have taken enough capacity out of the market to change the outlook for motor carriers.
Read More →
Platform Science Adds Dispatch and Safety Tools
Four additions to PS Fleet help fleets monitor loads, manage driver coaching, share truck locations and adjust video system settings.
Read More →
PrePass Intelligence Mines Fleet Bypass, Toll and Safety Data
PrePass Intelligence helps fleets measure bypass savings, flag potential toll overcharges, and spot suspicious transactions by combining data from separate systems.
Read More →
Motive Adds AI Agents for Fleet Operations
New tools automate follow-up on fleet data, from maintenance work orders to driver alerts, with two-way voice conversations planned for later this year.
Read More →Can You Beat Our Trucking Trivia Challenge?
Test your truck knowledge with 19 trivia questions from Heavy Duty Trucking Exchange. Can you keep up with the fleet pros?
Read More →
BeyondTrucks Adds Rules Checks to Dispatch
New Compatibility Engine checks driver qualifications, equipment requirements and fleet policies before loads are dispatched.
Read More →
