WASHINGTON - Durable goods orders fell 2.4% in August, the largest monthly decline since January, as demand for transportation equipment slowed, the Commerce Department reported today.
Orders excluding transportation goods were unchanged in August following three months of increases.
Economists had estimated durable goods orders would increase 0.5% and orders excluding transportation goods would increase 1.0%, according to the median forecast from Thomson Reuters. Total orders have fallen in two of the past three months.
Transportation equipment dropped 9.3% following a 17.7% increase in July. Demand for nondefense aircraft, a volatile category, plunged 42.2% following a 98.2% increase in July.
Demand for nondefense capital goods, like farm and construction machinery, but excluding aircraft, fell 0.4% after a 1.3% decline in July.
Total durable goods orders increased 4.8% in July, revised down from the 4.9% initially reported.
