Factory orders in the United States rose 0.2% in September from the previous month to $612.6 billion, a new report from the Census Bureau said on Thursday. New orders for manufactured durable goods increased 0.5% to $313.7 billion, while orders for manufactured nondurable goods decreased 0.1% to $298.9 billion. Shipments rose by 0.1% month-on-month to $307.8 billion, while unfilled orders advanced 0.7% to $1,489.8 billion. Inventories declined by 0.1% to $589.7 billion, with the inventories-to-shipments ratio at 1.56, unchanged from August. (full story)