U.S. Durable Goods Orders Pull Back Much Less Than Expected In December

(RTTNews) - New orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods pulled back by much less than expected in the month of December, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders slumped by 1.4 percent in December after spiking by an upwardly revised 5.4 percent in November.

Economists had expected durable goods orders to tumble by 2.3 percent compared to the 5.3 percent surge that had been reported for the previous month.

The pullback by durable goods orders largely reflected a steep drop in orders for transportation equipment, which plunged by 5.3 percent in December after soaring by 15.2 percent in November.

Orders for non-defense aircraft and parts led the way lower, plummeting by 24.9 percent in December after skyrocketing by 98.2 percent in November.

Excluding orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders increased by 0.9 percent in December after climbing by 0.4 percent in November. Ex-transportation orders were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.

Orders for computer and electronic products shot up by 3.0 percent, while orders for primary metals jumped by 1.7 percent.

The Commerce Department also said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a key indicator of business spending, grew by 0.6 percent in December after climbing by 0.8 percent in November.

Shipments in the same category, which is the source data for equipment investment in GDP, increased by 0.9 percent in December after rising by 0.2 percent in November.