New orders for manufactured goods fell -0.7% MoM in December, while shipments rose +0.5% MoM, showing softer demand but steady deliveries.

• Total new orders declined -$4.3B (-0.7% MoM) to $617.5B after +2.7% in November, marking decreases in two of the last three months.

• Excluding transport orders, manufactured goods new orders were actually up +0.4% MoM, matching the increase in shipments of +0.4% MoM in the same month.

• Durable goods orders fell -1.4% MoM, being the main drag, while nondurable goods orders were flat MoM.

• Shipments increased +$3.1B (+0.5% MoM) to $609.2B following a -0.2% MoM change in November, indicating continued outbound goods flow despite weaker orders.

• Unfilled orders rose +$13.4B (+0.9% MoM) to $1,527.5B, extending gains to 17 of the last 18 months and signaling continued backlog accumulation.

• The unfilled orders to shipments ratio edged down to 7.01 (from 7.04), showing backlog growth slightly slower relative to deliveries.

• Inventories increased +$1.0B (+0.1% MoM) to $949.6B after +0.2% in November, indicating modest stock building.

• The inventories-to-shipments ratio slipped to 1.56 (from 1.57), suggesting inventories remained stable relative to shipment volumes.