Washington, October 4--Factory orders fell in August for the first time in four months, reflecting lower demand for commercial aircraft, a government report showed.
The 0.1 percent drop to $370.5 billion in orders followed a revised 1.7 percent increase in July that was stronger than first reported, the Commerce Department said in Washington. Bookings for products other than transportation equipment rose 1.3 percent in August, the biggest advance since March, after rising 0.8 percent the month before.
Orders were restrained by a drop in volatile bookings for commercial aircraft, which doubled a month earlier. Businesses may spend more to replace aging equipment in coming months, boosting factory production and helping drive economic growth as high energy prices restrain consumer spending, economists said.
Orders were forecast to rise 0.1 percent, the median of 50 economists surveyed, after an initially reported 1.3 percent increase in July. Estimates ranged from a decline of 0.8 percent to an increase of 6 percent.
Through August, orders for were up 12 percent compared with the same period in 2003, the Commerce Department said.
Bookings for durable goods, which account for more than half the orders, fell 0.3 percent after rising 1.9 percent in July. The government had reported last month that durable goods orders for August fell 0.5 percent. Excluding transportation equipment, bookings for durables rose 2.3 percent in August, the government said at the time. Durable goods are products designed to last three years or more.
Orders for transportation equipment fell 7.4 percent last month after a 6.5 percent rise in July. Orders for commercial aircraft fell 43 percent in August.
Appliance bookings rose 4.4 percent. Orders for metals were unchanged, and for machinery rose 0.2 percent. Orders for non- durable goods, including chemicals, drugs, paper, plastics and textiles, rose 0.2 percent after rising 1.3 percent in July.
Oil prices rose by about a third this year through August, helping boost the value of non-durable goods.
Total shipments rose 1.1 percent after rising 0.9 percent in July. Factory inventories rose 0.5 percent in August after a 1 percent advance the month before.
