New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods saw a substantial decrease in the month of January, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Tuesday.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders dove by 6.1 percent in January after falling by a revised 0.3 percent in December.
Economists had expected durable goods orders to tumble by 4.5 percent compared to the unchanged reading that had been reported for the previous month.
The steep drop in durable goods orders largely reflected a nosedive by orders for transportation equipment, which plunged by 16.2 percent in January after sliding by 0.6 percent in December.
Orders for non-defense aircraft and parts led the way lower, plummeting by 58.9 percent in January after jumping by 1.0 percent in December.
Excluding the slump in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders dipped by 0.3 percent in January after edging down by 0.1 percent in December. Ex-transportation orders were expected to rise by 0.2 percent.
Notable decreases in orders for primary metals and fabricated metal products were partly offset by a surge in orders for computers and electronic products.
Meanwhile, the report said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a key indicator of business spending, inched up by 0.1 percent in January after falling by 0.6 percent in December.
Shipments in the same category, which is the source data for equipment investment in GDP, climbed 0.8 percent in January after edging up by 0.1 percent in December.
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