New orders for all factory goods are up 0.4 percent in April after a rise of 0.6 percent in March. The April increase was below the consensus of up 0.8 percent in the Econoday survey of forecasters. Orders for durable goods are unrevised at up 1.1 percent from the advance report. Nondurables orders are down 0.1 percent in April after falling 1.8 percent in the prior month. Total orders excluding the volatile transportation sector are down 0.2 percent in April after a decrease of 1.0 percent in March.

Core capital goods orders (nondefense ex-aircraft) are revised 1 tenth lower to what is still a very strong 1.3 percent surge.

Total transportation orders are up 3.7 percent month-over-month in April. While orders for nondefense aircraft are down 8.5 percent in April, defense aircraft orders are up 32.7 percent. Motor vehicle orders are 0.5 percent higher, and orders for ships and boats are up 35.2 percent.

Shipments of all factory goods are down 0.4 percent in April from March. Durable industry shipments are down 0.7 percent month-over-month, while shipments of nondurables are 0.1 percent lower.

Unfilled orders are 0.8 percent higher for all manufacturing in April from the prior month. Excluding transportation, unfilled orders are flat month-over-month. Unfilled transportation orders are up 1.3 percent and reflect backlogs rising 0.7 percent for motor vehicles, 0.9 percent for nondefense aircraft, and 4.1 percent for defense aircraft.

Inventories for all manufacturers are 0.5 percent higher in April from March. Excluding transportation, inventories are down 0.1 percent. Inventories of durable goods are up 1.0 percent while nondurables inventories fare 0.3 percent lower.

Factory orders are expected to rise 0.8 percent in April versus March's 0.9 percent rise. Durable goods orders for April, which have already been released and are one of two major components of this report, rose 1.1 percent on the month.

Factory orders represent the dollar level of new orders for both durable and nondurable goods. This report gives more complete information than the advance durable goods report which is released one or two weeks earlier in the month.

Investors want to keep their fingers on the pulse of the economy because it usually dictates how various types of investments will perform. The stock market likes to see healthy economic growth because that translates to higher corporate profits. The bond market prefers more moderate growth which is less likely to cause inflationary pressures. By tracking economic data like factory orders, investors will know what the economic backdrop is for these markets and their portfolios. The orders data show how busy factories will be in coming months as manufacturers work to fill those orders. This report provides insight to the demand for not only hard goods such as refrigerators and cars, but nondurables such as cigarettes and apparel. In addition to new orders, analysts monitor unfilled orders, an indicator of the backlog in production. Shipments reveal current sales. Inventories give a handle on the strength of current and future production. All in all, this report tells investors what to expect from the manufacturing sector, a major component of the economy and therefore a major influence on their investments.