US factory orders pull back in December

(Sharecast News) - US factory orders declined for the second time in three months in December, according to figures from the Census Bureau on Monday.

New orders for manufactured goods totalled $617.5bn in the final month of 2025, down 0.7% when compared with November and missing the 1.1% gain expected by economists.

That followed a 2.7% jump in November - the highest growth in six months - to $621.9bn, which bounced back strongly after a 1.2% decline in October.

New orders for durable goods fell 1.4% over the month to $319.9bn, with falls in transportation equipment orders driving the decrease with a 5.4% slump. Non-durable goods orders were more or less unchanged at $297.6bn.

However, despite the headline decline, shipments rose 0.5% to $609.2bn, while unfilled orders increased 0.9% to $1.53bn. Inventories, meanwhile, inched 0.1% higher to $949.6bn.