(MENAFN- Saudi Press Agency) Orders to U.S. factories fell for a fifth consecutive month in December, but a smaller drop in business spending plans supported views of a rebound in the coming months, the government reported Tuesday.
The Commerce Department said new orders for manufactured goods fell 3.4 percent in December after a 1.7 percent decline the previous month. It was the largest drop since a 10 percent plunge in August.
In December, demand fell across a broad sector of industries. Excluding the volatile transportation category, factory orders fell 2.3 percent, the biggest decline since March 2013, after dropping 1.3 percent in November. In a sign of weakness, unfilled orders at factories fell 0.8 percent, the first decline in 10 months.
Demand in a key category that serves as a gauge of business investment plans fell slightly after bigger declines in the previous three months. Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft dropped 0.1 percent.
Manufacturing is slowing, constrained by weak global demand, the stronger U.S. dollar, and falling crude-oil prices, which have caused some companies in the energy sector to either delay or reduce capital expenditure projects.
Business spending on equipment in the fourth quarter was the weakest since mid-2009. The trend in business investment likely continued into the current quarter, but economists still are optimistic that surging domestic demand will result in a rebound in overall factory orders this year.
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