WASHINGTON - U.S. factory orders fell 1.2% in April, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Excluding transportation, new orders fell 0.2%.
The April orders decline followed revised increases in overall orders in March, with the headline number up 3.8% and ex-transportation orders up 2.9%.
The median estimate of economists polled by Thomson Reuters was for a 1.0% decrease.
The non-defense capital goods category, an indication of manufacturing health, was off 6.3% in April. The core non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft fell 2.3%.
This report is heavily influenced by the 30.0% drop in orders for non-defense aircraft. That is essentially the Boeing order book and fluctuates hugely from month to month. Non-defense aircraft orders rose 2.3% in March but were up 39.9% in February.
Problems in auto manufacturing also contributed to the April orders decline. Orders were off 4.9% compared with a 6.6% increase the month before.
Shipments fell 0.2% for the month, unfilled orders rose 0.3% and inventories were up 1.3%.
