April 27, 2005
By Robert Schroeder, MarketWatch
CBS
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. orders for durable goods declined 2.8% in March, the largest drop since September 2002, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting orders to rise 0.3%.
This is the third consecutive month orders for durable goods have fallen.
Orders for durable goods in February were revised to a drop of 0.2% from a 0.3% increase.
Shipments fell 0.2%, with declines across several categories.
Inventories rose 0.4% in March.
Transportation represented the biggest drop in orders, down 7.8%. Orders for civilian airplanes fell 22.7%, while orders for military aircraft dropped 35%. Orders for motor vehicles, meanwhile, fell 2.4%. It was the third straight month that auto and truck orders fell.
All orders excluding transportation fell 1%, the second straight decline.
Core orders - capital equipment used by businesses - fell 4.7% after falling 2.5% in February. It was the largest decline since November 2003.
Orders for computers and primary metals were the only categories that rose in March.
New orders for machinery fell 7.6%, while shipments fell 2.8%.
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