By Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Orders for U.S.-made durable goods fell in October, declining 0.6% on weaker demand for machinery, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
Excluding transportation goods, orders fell 1.3%. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected a gain of 0.5% for durable-goods orders, and a gain of 0.4% for orders excluding transportation.
Durable-goods orders had gained 2% in September, and were up 1.8% excluding transportation.
Shipments of durable goods fell 0.2% in October, pulled down by transportation equipment.
Inventories fell slightly in October, and have been down for 10 consecutive months.
By the number
October's orders for machinery fell 8%. In the prior month, these orders had gained 8.8%.
Orders for nondefense capital-equipment goods excluding aircraft fell 2.9% in October, following a gain of 2.6% in the prior month. Such core capital-goods orders are considered the best gauge of capital spending by businesses. Shipments of core capital goods -- a figure that feeds directly into calculations of gross domestic product -- fell 0.2% in October, following a gain of 0.3% in September.
The level of new orders for durables in October was down 23% from the same month a year ago.
Overall capital-goods orders were down 2% in October, following a gain of 3.6% in the prior month. However, orders for transportation equipment in October rose 1.5%, following a gain of 2.5%.
The monthly durables report is highly volatile, in large part because of swings in demand for civilian aircraft and other extremely expensive items.
