U.S. factory orders rose 0.4% in July, as manufacturers worked to pump out more goods to keep up with high demand.
Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.3% increase.
Durable-goods orders slipped 0.1%, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That’s unchanged from the initial estimate.
Yet orders for nondurable goods — food, clothing, drugs and the like — jumped 0.9% in the month.
Read: Consumer confidence sinks to 6-month low on delta anxiety and inflation
Orders for capital goods excluding aircraft and military items rose a revised 0.1% in July. Economists view it as a good proxy for business investment.
Previously the government had said these outlays were flat in July.
Manufacturers have plenty of customer demand, but broad labor and supply shortages have slowed production. That’s hampering the economic recovery and spurring a big increase in inflation.
Read: Inflation in the U.S. is running at the highest level in 30 years
Eventually the shortages will go away, but they are likely to persist at least through the end of the year.
In recent action, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+0.43%
and S&P 500
SPX,
+0.35%
rose in Thursday trades.
