Orders were down for around two-thirds of survey participants. Compared with May, orders were down 8 percent. Year to date, orders are up 3 percent compared with 2023, although that spread has narrowed significantly with the past two months of declines, Smith Leonard said.

Shipments in June were down 8 percent from last year but flat from May. Shipments were down for around 80 percent of survey participants compared with last year. They’re down 9 percent year to date. Backlogs were down 6 percent from last June and down 2 percent from May.

Receivable levels were down 7 percent from last June and down 1 percent from May. Inventories were down 16 percent from last June and are even from May.

The numbers of factory and warehouse employees were down 6 percent from last June and down 3 percent from May. Year to date, payroll expense is down 7 percent.