WASHINGTON - New orders for manufactured durable goods fell $1.4 billion or 0.7% to $197.7 billion, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
The decline was the second in two months, following a revised 1.5% drop in September.
Excluding transportation, new orders rose 0.7% and excluding defense, they gained 0.2%.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had projected a 1.0% decrease in new orders for durable goods. They had estimated that durable goods excluding transportation would remain unchanged from September.
Durable goods shipments, up five of the last six months, rose $2.6 billion or 1.3% to $203 billion in October, following a revised 0.5% decrease in September.
Unfilled orders for durable goods, up 18 of the last 19 months, increased $1.9 billion or 0.2% to $886 billion, following a revised 0.6% gain in September.
Inventories, up 22 consecutive months, rose $1.8 billion or 0.5% to $367.2 billion, the highest level since the series was first published on a NAICS basis, and followed a slight September gain.
