WASHINGTON — Durable goods orders unexpectedly declined in December, dropping 2.5% to $191 billion, as orders for big-ticket nonmilitary aircraft sharply decreased, the Commerce Department reported Thursday morning.
Excluding transportation equipment, which can fluctuate greatly from month to month, durable goods orders grew 0.5% to $151.8 billion. Economists forecast that durable goods would rise 1.5% and orders excluding transportation would increase 0.8%, according to Thomson Reuters.
Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial, said the drop is the fourth in the past five months. However, she indicated the durable goods data was more heartening once volatile aircraft orders — which fell 99% — were subtracted from the mix.
“More telling is the underlying trend, which is still decidedly positive, especially in orders for nondefense capital equipment, which is a major component of business investment and is up a whopping 22% from a year ago,” she said. “Shipments in the same category are up 6.8% from a year ago, while order backlogs are building.”
