U.S. Durable Goods Orders Slump More Than Expected

After reporting a bigger than expected jump in orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods in the previous month, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing durable goods orders pulled back by more than expected in January. 

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders plunged by 3.7 percent in January after surging up by a revised 2.6 percent in December. Economists had expected durable goods orders to drop by 2.0 percent compared to the 2.8 percent jump that had been reported for the previous month. 

The bigger than expected decrease in durable goods orders was primarily due to a sharp pullback in orders for transportation equipment, which plummeted by 10.0 percent in January after spiking by 6.4 percent in December. 

Excluding orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders edged down by 0.3 percent in January compared to the 0.7 percent increase in December. Ex-transportation orders had been expected to rise by 0.4 percent.