New orders for all factory goods rose 0.2 percent in September after a small downward revision to up 1.3 percent in August. The increase matches the consensus in the Econoday survey of forecasters.

New orders for durable goods rise 0.5 percent in September after an increase of 3.0 percent in August. Durables are lifted by a 1.5 percent increase in primary metals, 0.5 percent gain in computers and electronics, 0.4 percent increase in transportation. Transportation sees increases of 0.2 percent for motor vehicles and 30.9 percent for defense aircraft, while nondefense aircraft are down 6.1 percent. Excluding transportation, orders are up 0.2 percent.

Orders for nondurable goods dip 0.1 percent in September after falling 0.4 percent in August. The decrease is broad-based and led by a 1.1 percent decline in petroleum. However, there are increases of 0.1 percent in food products and 0.4 percent in beverages and tobacco.

Unfilled orders are up 0.7 percent in September, the same increase as in August where durable goods industries are seeing some backlogs. Factory inventories are down 0.1 percent in September and August as drawdown continues for front-loaded inventory building earlier in the year.

Orders expected up 0.2 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.