WASHINGTON, March 5 (UPI) -- U.S. factory orders dropped 1 percent from December to January, with orders declining to $462.6 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Monday.
Factory orders fell 1 percent or by $4.8 billion, but the drop was shy of expectations. Economists predicted new orders to fall 1.5 percent.
Excluding transportation, new orders fell 0.3 percent.
Shipments of goods, up eight consecutive months, rose 0.9 percent or by $4.1 billion to $463.6 billion.
Separated from the rest of the category, shipment of transportation equipment -- big ticket items like ships, trains, plains and trucks -- rose 6.1 percent or by $2.9 billion to $50.6 billion.
New orders for durable goods -- goods expected to last three years -- dropped by 3.7 percent or $8 billion to $206.9 billion, falling after three consecutive months of gains. Orders for manufactured non-durable goods rose by 1.3 percent or $3.3 billion to $255.7 billion.
