Washington, DC, March 6, 2006--New orders at factories fell 4.5 percent in January, slightly less than expected but still the biggest drop since July 2000, as orders for durables, machinery, computers, and aircraft fell, a government report showed on Monday.
Analysts were expecting factory orders to fall 5.3 percent.
Orders for durable goods, expensive items meant to last three years or more, fell 9.9 percent, the steepest decline since a 14.2 percent drop in July 2000. However, the decline in durables was revised up from a previously reported 10.2 percent drop.
Factory orders for December were revised up to a 1.6 percent rise from an initially reported 1.1 percent gain.
Transportation equipment tumbled 31.0 percent as orders for nondefense aircraft and parts plummeted 68.3 percent. Civilian aircraft orders had slipped 2.8 percent in December but that followed a 139.4 percent surge in November.
When transportation orders were stripped out, factory orders were up 1.6 percent in January, the third consecutive monthly increase. Meanwhile, when defense orders were omitted, factory orders fell 3.3 percent, the first decline in four months and the biggest slide since September 2001.
Nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, a proxy for business spending, rose 0.1 percent.
Machinery orders slid 2.4 percent in January, while computers and electronic products orders were down 0.4 percent on a 13.7 percent drop in computer orders.
