Construction supply purchases, ISM activity rise; bad news floods income properties

New orders for U.S. manufactured goods (excluding semiconductor manufacturing) fell 0.8 percentin August, seasonally adjusted, after four consecutive monthly increases, the Census Bureau reported on Friday [Oct. 2]. Orders for construction materials and supplies rose 0.6 percent in August, following increases of 0.8 percent in July and 1.7 percent in June. Orders for construction machinery, a normally volatile series, tumbled 23 percent in August after gains of 9.6 percent in July and 11.5 percent in June.

Purchasing executives at nonmanufacturing organizations reported slight growth in activity in September, the Institute for Supply Management reported on Monday [Oct. 5]. "The five industries reporting growth [in the] composite index-listed in order-are: utilities, health care & social assistance, retail trade, construction and wholesale trade," according to an Oct. 8 Data DIGest report.

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