Posted May 25, 2011
Durable goods orders fall
New orders for manufactured durable goods decreased 3.6 percent in April to $189.9 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today.
This decrease, down two of the last three months, followed a 4.4 percent March increase. Excluding transportation, new orders decreased 1.5 percent. Excluding defense,
new orders decreased 3.6 percent.
Transportation equipment, also down two of the last three months, had the largest decrease, $4.9 billion or 9.5 percent to $46.7 billion.
"The unequivocally negative report on the demand for long-lasting manufactured goods in April corroborates other recent evidence that the U.S. economic expansion continues to struggle," said Cliff Waldman, economist for the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, regarding the durable goods report. "Total new orders for durable goods declined by 3.6 percent in April after a 4.4 percent increase in March. While new orders growth was 9.2 percent year-to-date over year ago levels, the broad and relatively steep declines seen in April suggest that this is more than a one-month event. Excluding the volatile transportation component, new orders fell by 1.5 percent and were down a far steeper 3.6 percent excluding defense-related expenditures.
Shipments also decreased $2.0 billion or 1.0 percent to $194.9 billion. This followed a 3.1 percent March increase.
