Factory Orders Fall For Record Sixth Month

Source: Associated Press

(03-05) 07:30 PST WASHINGTON (AP) --

Orders to U.S. factories fell for a record sixth straight month in January as demand declined across a wide cross-section of industries.

The Commerce Department said Thursday that demand for manufactured products dropped by 1.9 percent in January. That was smaller than the 3.5 percent drop that economists had been forecasting but it was still the sixth consecutive monthly fall, a record number of declines for a data series that goes back to 1992.

The weakness in January included a big plunge in orders for transportation equipment, reflecting the continued troubles facing automakers who are struggling with the weakest sales in decades.

Orders for autos and auto parts dropped by 1.7 percent after an even bigger 5.6 percent fall in December. Orders for ships plunged 85.5 percent but orders for commercial aircraft rose sharply after two months of big declines.

Excluding transportation, factory orders would have fallen by 0.9 perent, very close to the 1 percent drop that had been forecast.


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