U.S. Durable Goods Orders Fall More Than Expected As Aircraft Demand Slumps

(RTTNews) - Reflecting a continued slump by orders for transportation equipment, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods fell by more than expected in the month of September.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders slid by 0.8 percent in September, matching a revised decrease in August.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to fall by 0.5 percent compared to the unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month.

The bigger than expected decline by durable goods orders came as orders for transportation equipment tumbled by 3.1 percent in September after plunging by 3.4 percent in August.

Orders for non-defense aircraft and parts plummeted by 22.7 percent, while orders for defense aircraft and parts saw a 23.7 percent nosedive.

Excluding the slump by orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders rose by 0.4 percent in September after climbing by 0.6 percent in August. Ex-transportation orders were expected to edge down by 0.1 percent.

The increase by ex-transportation partly reflected a 2.1 percent jump by orders for fabricated metal products, while orders for primary metals also rose by 0.5 percent.

The Commerce Department said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a key indicator of business spending, also climbed by 0.5 percent in September after rising by 0.3 percent in August.

Meanwhile, shipments in the same category, which is the source data for equipment investment in GDP, fell by 0.3 percent in September after edging down by 0.1 percent in August.