In a warning sign for the economy, factory orders have suffered their sharpest drop since the onset of the pandemic, when lockdowns led to an economic crash.
New orders for American-made goods have suffered the sharpest drop in three-and-a-half years, with the latest sign of a slump in U.S. manufacturing adding to fears of a coming recession.
According to the latest month of available data from the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau, factory orders fell 3.6 percent in October.
The decline is the sharpest monthly drop since April 2020, when pandemic lockdowns rattled the economy and threw it into a recessionary tailspin.
The Commerce Department report also showed that new orders for manufactured durable goods fell 5.4 percent after a 4.0 percent rise in September.
The disappointing factory numbers come hot on the heels of other data suggesting that America’s manufacturing sector is mired in weakness and the economy is heading for a slowdown. Economy Hitting ‘Stall Speed’ The closely-watched Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) Manufacturing PMI shows that U.S. manufacturing activity contracted in November for the 13th consecutive month, as demand softened and new orders fell.
The 13-month-long U.S. manufacturing decline is the longest down streak since the 2008-09 financial crisis. The manufacturing