
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, August 6, 1993                   TAG: 9308060098
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: CHICAGO                                LENGTH: Short

ORDERS TO FACTORIES TAKE A WELCOME JUMP

Stronger-than-expected data on June factory orders was seen as a positive, and somewhat surprising, sign of growth in the manufacturing sector, analysts said Thursday.

Factory orders rose 2.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted $254.769 billion with a 3.8 percent jump in durable-goods orders. It was the first gain since February. And some analysts said they had not expected the nondurable-goods sector to rise as much as it did - up 1.3 percent in June.

"We're beginning to see some new growth emerging," said Dan Seto, an economist with Nikko Securities International in New York.

Shipments of food, chemicals and textiles all rose, but shipments of paperboard for boxes fell. Because most manufacturers ship their goods in boxes, the decrease indicates that "overall demand is not running away," said Carol Stone, senior economist with Nomura Securities International in New York.

The overall gain was influenced heavily by a spike in new orders for transportation equipment. But the transportation sector is volatile, with the amount of orders varying widely from month to month.

A 0.1 percent drop in manufacturers' inventories also should herald increased activity later this year, analysts said.

by CNB