Originally published July 3, 2019
The US manufacturing sector may not be in as bad a shape as its German or Japanese counterparts, though it appears to be catching up on the downside. The Census Bureau reports today that new orders for all types of goods in all industries fell 1.6% year-over-year (unadjusted) in May 2019.
This was the first minus sign for the broad category which includes both durable and non-durable goods manufacturing. Orders hadn't fallen on annual basis since 2016.
It is further evidence that the supply chain is being forced to adjust