Reuters: Most Read Articles: Durable goods drop worst since recession

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Durable goods drop worst since recession Sep 27th 2012, 12:37 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News CEO confidence drops to three-year low: Roundtable Wed, Sep 26 2012 New home sales dip, but prices scale five-year high Wed, Sep 26 2012 Factory, jobless claims reports signal weakness Thu, Sep 20 2012 Gasoline pushes up inflation, could dent growth Fri, Sep 14 2012 Gasoline, autos boost retail sales in August Fri, Sep 14 2012 Analysis & Opinion Leap off fiscal cliff is bad option, but not worst No good deed unpunished for U.S. corporate citizens Related Topics Money » Aerospace & Defense » Washers and dryers are seen on display at a store in New York July 28, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton WASHINGTON | Thu Sep 27, 2012 8:37am EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods in August fell by the most in 3-1/2 years, pointing to a sharp slowdown in factory activity even as a gauge of planned business spending rebounded. The Commerce Department said on Thursday durable goods orders dived 13.2 percent, the largest drop since January 2009, when the economy was in the throes of a recession. Orders for July were revised down to show a 3.3 percent increase instead of the previously reported 4.1 percent gain. Economists polled by Reuters had expected orders for durable goods -- items from toasters to aircraft that are meant to last at least three years -- to fall 5 percent. Last month, the drop in orders reflected weak aircraft and automobiles demand. Boeing received only one aircraft order in August, down from 260 in July, according to information posted on the plane maker's website. Transportation equipment tumbled 34.9 percent after racing ahead 13.1 percent in July. Excluding transportation, orders fell 1.6 percent after dropping 1.3 percent the prior month. Economists had expected this category to rise 0.3 percent after a previously reported 0.6 percent fall. Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, rose 1.1 percent, halting two straight months of hefty declines. That was above economists' expectations for 0.5 percent gain. But shipments of these goods, which are used to calculate equipment and software spending in the gross domestic product report, fell 0.9 percent after declining 1.1 percent in July. The weakness suggested third-quarter economic growth would probably not improve much from the April-June's 1.3 percent annual pace. Manufacturing, which has been the main driver of the recovery from the 2007-09 recession, has been hit by turbulence from sluggish domestic and global demand. Fears that the U.S. Congress could fail to avert a "fiscal cliff" -- the $500 billion or so in expiring tax cuts and government spending reductions set to take hold in 2013 -- have also left businesses with little incentive to boost production. (Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci) Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (5) 4 MORE YEARS!!! 4 MORE YEARS!!! 4 MORE YEARS!!! Sep 27, 2012 10:11am EDT  --  Report as abuse 4 MORE YEARS!!! 4 MORE YEARS!!! 4 MORE YEARS!!! Sep 27, 2012 10:11am EDT  --  Report as abuse Barry O = Miserable Failure Sep 27, 2012 10:27am EDT  --  Report as abuse See All Comments » Add Your Comment

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