New orders for manufactured goods fell 2.9 percent to $456.5 billion in December, following a 0.7 percent decrease in December, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This was the fourth decline in the last five months. Excluding transportation, new orders fell 0.8 percent to $385.3 billion.
New orders for manufactured durable goods fell 5.0 percent to $225.6 billion in December, following a 0.5 percent decrease in November. Transportation equipment led the decrease, as it fell by 12.6 percent to $71.2 billion.
Shipments of manufactured durable goods fell 2.1 percent to $236.1 billion, following a 0.6 percent increase in November. Shipments excluding transportation fell 0.4 percent, compared to a 0.6 percent decline in November. Shipments of nondurable goods fell 0.8 percent on account of weaker petroleum and coal demand.
Read the Census release.
