Inventory Restocking to Propel U.S. Manufacturing: Economy

The need to rebuild depleted inventories may supersede spending on business equipment as the catalyst propelling gains in U.S. manufacturing in early 2012.

Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a measure of future corporate investment, dropped 1.2 percent in November, the biggest decline in 10 months, according to Commerce Department data today. A report yesterday showed a gauge of stockpiles at factories’ customers slumped in December to a seven-month low.