Factory orders slipped in August

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. factory orders slipped in August, with durable goods and non-durable goods orders down 13.2 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively, the Census Bureau said.

New orders for merchandise expected to last at least three years, called durable goods, and quickly expended items, such as gas for the car, fell 5.2 percent or by $24.9 billion to $452.8 billion following a 2.6 percent increase in July, bureau said.

Order for big-ticket transportation items, such as trucks, ships, planes and trains, fell after four months of consecutive increases.

Transportation orders dropped 34.9 percent of by $27.8 billion to $52 billion.

The influence of the transportation sector was such that excluding transportation from the data allowed new orders to rise 0.7 percent, said the Census Bureau, which is part of the Commerce Department.

Inventories of non-durable goods rose by 0.6 percent or $1.3 billion to $239.6 billion, following a 0.2 percent drop in July.

Inventories of durable goods, up for 31 of the past 32 months, rose by 0.6 percent or $2.4 billion to $372.2 billion, the report said.