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U.S. Service Industry Grows at Slower Pace, Expands for Ninth Month in Row
bloomberg ^ | 01/06/04 | bloomberg

Posted on 01/06/2004 7:24:11 AM PST by Pikamax

Edited on 07/19/2004 2:13:01 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]

U.S. December ISM Service Industry Index Fell to 58.6 (Update2) Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. service companies reported business expanded in December for a ninth straight month, while more companies reported increases in orders and exports, an industry report said.


(Excerpt) Read more at quote.bloomberg.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bushrecovery; serviceindustry

1 posted on 01/06/2004 7:24:12 AM PST by Pikamax
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To: Pikamax
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=a6IEZRC3pI7k&refer=home


U.S. November Factory Orders Fall 1.4%; Ex-Trans. Drop 1.5%
Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Orders placed with U.S. factories fell 1.4 percent in November, the first decline in three months, paced by fewer bookings for computers and electronic products, government figures showed.

Factory orders dropped to $336.9 billion following a revised 2.4 percent gain in October, the Commerce Department said in Washington. The November decline was the largest since 2.6 percent in April. Excluding transportation equipment, orders fell 1.5 percent, also the biggest decrease since April.

The drop was the second in the past seven months and left orders 6 percent higher than in November 2002. A private index of manufacturing for December rose to the highest in two decades and showed that more companies placed orders than at any time since 1950, suggesting bookings will rebound.

``This volatile report does not negate other earlier evidence that manufacturing is in the midst of a robust upturn,'' said Sherry Cooper, chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns in Toronto, before the report. The decline is ``a setback, but should be viewed against a backdrop of many other very robust figures that suggest U.S. growth is becoming self-sustaining.''

Economists had projected a 1.5 percent drop in November factory orders to $336.1 billion, based on the median of 50 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Forecasts ranged from a decline of 3 percent to a rise of 0.3 percent.

The fall in orders was led by a 2.5 percent slump in bookings for durable goods, which account for more than half of the report.

November orders for non-durable goods, which include industrial chemicals, drugs, papers and textiles, fell 0.2 percent after gaining 0.6 percent the prior month.

Computers, Vehicles

Orders for computers and electronic equipment plunged 10.7 percent, the biggest drop since 12.4 percent in July 2000. Bookings for motor vehicles fell 1.8 percent after climbing 0.3 percent in October. Non-defense aircraft orders were 13.9 lower while machinery bookings rose 2.1 percent.

Factory inventories dropped 0.2 percent in November following a 0.1 percent rise the month before. The inventory-to-shipments ratio was unchanged at 1.29 months, the lowest on record.

An index of orders at manufacturers for December rose to 77.6, the highest since July 1950, from 73.7 a month earlier, the Institute for Supply Management said Friday. Sixteen out of 20 industries surveyed by the Tempe, Arizona, group reported an increase in orders in December from a month earlier. A reading greater than 50, signals orders are rising.

The institute's orders component ``is the most forward- looking part of the survey,'' said Carl Riccadonna, an economist at Deutsche Bank Securities in New York. ``It gives us a good indication of where durable goods orders will be heading.''

Semiconductor Demand

Texas Instruments Inc., whose semiconductors run more than half the mobile phones sold in 2002, last month said sales in the fourth quarter would reach the highest in three years. Revenue will rise to the range of $2.64 billion to $2.77 billion for the final three months of 2003, exceeding an October forecast of between $2.49 billion and $2.7 billion, the company said. The sales gains are being driven by orders for the newest mobile phones with cameras and MP3 audio players.

The economy may have expanded at a 4 percent annual pace last quarter, based on the median estimate of 63 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News last month. Gross domestic product grew at an 8.2 percent pace from July through September, the fastest in almost 20 years. This year the economy's growth may average 4.4 percent, the most since 1999, the survey found.

Last Updated: January 6, 2004 10:00 EST
2 posted on 01/06/2004 7:25:06 AM PST by Pikamax
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3 posted on 01/06/2004 7:27:17 AM PST by Support Free Republic (Your support keeps Free Republic going strong!)
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To: Texas_Dawg
The soup line forms to the right.
4 posted on 01/06/2004 7:35:14 AM PST by Coop (God bless our troops!)
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To: Pikamax
Don't you know all these service jobs are just "burger flippers?" Of course, that is, until a company CUTS these jobs, then all of a sudden they are "good jobs." Just ask Willie Green.
5 posted on 01/06/2004 8:03:09 AM PST by LS (CNN is the Amtrack of news.)
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