WASHINGTON — New orders for manufactured durable goods decreased 4.2% in March, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Orders fell a downwardly revised 1.9% increase in February.
Excluding transportation, new orders fell 1.1%, after a 1.9% jump in February, and excluding military orders, they dropped 4.6%.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters projected a 1.5% decrease for orders and a 0.5% increase excluding transportation.