--US December factory orders +1.1%; ex-transportation -0.8%
--Excluding defense, US December factory orders +1.7%
--US December durable goods orders revised to +2.1% from +2.2%
--US December non-durable goods orders -0.3% vs November's +0.5%
--US December factory inventories unchanged; shipments -0.2%
--US December unfilled orders +1.6%
--US December inventory/shipments ratio 1.32, unchanged from Nov
--US November factory orders revised to +1.9% from +1.7%
--US factory orders +6.8% in 2000; +6.1% in 1999
--US factory shipments +6.0% in 2000; +5.1% in 1999

By Andrew Williams, BridgeNews
Washington--Feb. 2--A 13.7% rise in transportation equipment orders helped U.S. factory orders edge up 1.1% in December, slightly above economists' expectations of a 1.0% rise. However, excluding transportation, factory orders fell 0.8%. Factory inventories were unchanged.
* * *
December non-durable goods orders, being reported for the first time Friday, were down 0.3% after a revised 0.5% gain the month before, the Commerce Department said.
December's orders for durable goods were revised to up 2.1%, from up 2.2% as reported in the Dec. 26 preliminary report on durable goods (see story .4726).
For 2000 as whole, factory orders rose 6.8%, topping 1999's 6.1% increase, a Commerce official said. It was the biggest annual gain since 1995.
WHAT WAS EXPECTED:
In a BridgeNews survey, private analysts forecast December factory orders would be reported down 1.5% to up 1.2%.
FACTORY INVENTORIES, SHIPMENTS:
--Manufacturers' inventories were unchanged in December after a revised 0.2% rise a month earlier.
--Factory shipments posted their fourth consecutive decrease in December, slipping 0.2%, following a revised 0.5% drop in November. For 2000, shipments rose 6.0%--their biggest gain since 1995--after increasing 5.1% in 1999, the Commerce official said.
--The inventory-to-shipments ratio was 1.32 in December, unchanged from November.
--Unfilled orders were up 1.6% in December, double the revised 0.8% climb in the prior month.
CAPITAL GOODS SHIPMENTS:
Shipments of non-defense capital goods, excluding aircraft rose a revised 0.8% in December after being reported down 0.3% in the durable goods report.
That was a partial reversal of November's 1.4% drop. These shipments are an important indicator of trends in capital spending and the contribution of producers' durable equipment purchases to GDP growth.

ORDERS DETAILS:
Orders for electronic and other electric equipment were revised to up 0.8%; they were previously reported up 2.4%. Orders for industrial machinery were revised to down 3.6%; they were last pegged as down 5.3%. End
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