WASHINGTON, July 5 (UPI) -- U.S. factory orders rose 0.8 percent in May slightly under expectations, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday.
Economists expected factory orders to rise 1 percent.
With orders now rising for six of the past seven months, orders increased by $3.5 billion to $445.3 billion.
Excluding transportation items, orders rose 0.2 percent.
Orders in transportation by itself -- the category that includes planes, trains, ships and trucks -- rose 6.3 percent or $2.9 billion to $49.9 billion.
After falling in April, shipments of factory goods rose 0.1 percent or by $400 million to $443.9 billion.
Unfilled orders, up 13 of the past 14 months, increased 0.9 percent to $860.9 billion.
Inventories, up 19 of the last 20 months, increased $4.5 billion, or 0.8 percent, to $593 billion, the data indicated. The inventories-to-shipments ratio was 1.34, up from 1.33 in April.
